Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today pledged to channel the spirit of her party's founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) and seek reconciliation with China, offering praise at his tomb in China for the country's achievements following the communist revolution.
In a moment filled with symbolism on her first full day in China, Cheng laid a wreath at Sun's mausoleum in Nanjing, also the capital of the KMT-led Republic of China (ROC) government before it fled to Taiwan in 1949 having lost a civil war with Mao Zedong's (毛澤東) communists.
"The core values of Sun Yat-sen's ideal that 'all under heaven are equal' have always been equality, inclusiveness and unity," Cheng said in footage carried live on Taiwanese television channels.
Photo: CNA
"We should work together to promote reconciliation and unity across the [Taiwan] Strait and create regional prosperity and peace," she said.
Sun, who founded the ROC in 1912, died of cancer in 1925.
He is still officially venerated in Taiwan as the founder of the ROC, but also in China by the Chinese Communist Party as a national hero.
Mao declared him the "great revolutionary forerunner."
Cheng said the KMT had eventually honored Sun's founding principles and made Taiwan into a free and democratic society, although she also mentioned the White Terror of the 38 years of martial law Taiwan lived under until 1987.
"Likewise, on the mainland, we have also seen and witnessed progress and development that exceeded everyone's expectations and imagination," she said.
Security was tight for her visit.
"I think this is very important for peaceful exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait," said student Yang Zihang, 19, who came with his classmate to see Cheng's motorcade.
Cheng says she is on a mission of peace, and that while she supports defense spending, it has to be balanced with dialogue.
Democratic Progressive Party spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) said if the KMT really wanted stability across the Strait, it should stop blocking defense spending in the legislature.
"Peace has never come from the charity of dictators. It must be safeguarded by Taiwan's own strength," he said in a statement.
President William Lai's (賴清德) government has said that Cheng should also tell Chinese officials, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) should she meet him, to stop China's regular military harassment of the nation and respect the Taiwanese people's right to choose their own future.
Speaking to reporters at the legislature in Taipei earlier today, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said he could not comment on what political parties do, but added that China uses a carrot-and-stick approach.
China uses military intimidation and harassment to create an atmosphere of rising military danger and instability across the Taiwan Strait, he said.
"This is intended to make Taiwan's society and public feel the psychological pressure and anxiety of a possible conflict," Tsai added.
"It aims to divide Taiwanese society internally, boosting the visibility of pro-China positions. It can also further obstruct efforts to push forward US arms procurement deals," he said.
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