Cheng Li-wun is the Kuomintang's first sitting leader to visit China in a decade.
59 minutes ago
Koh Ewe
CTI
China's President Xi Jinping received Taiwan's main opposition party leader on Friday, in a rare meeting which saw both sides stress a desire for cross-strait peace.
Cheng Li-wun is the Kuomintang's (KMT) first sitting leader to visit China in a decade.
In 2016, Beijing cut off high-level communications with Taiwan after the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen became president, citing her refusal to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation. The DPP is among those who have criticised Cheng's trip, accusing her of being "subservient" to Beijing.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out taking the self-governed island by force.
"The leaders of our two parties are meeting today in order to safeguard the peace and stability of our shared homeland, to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and to allow future generations to share in a bright and beautiful future," said Xi in a meeting at China's Great Hall of the People on Friday.
He added that China was willing to strengthen exchange and dialogue together with various parties, including the KMT - though it would have to be on the condition of opposing Taiwan independence.
Xi also reiterated that those on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese, and that they all wanted peace.
In response, Cheng said the "rejuvenation of the Chinese people is a shared aspiration of the people on both sides of the Strait".
She added that it would be a "positive contribution to world peace and human progress".
In a press conference after her closed-door meeting with Xi, Cheng said young people of every generation had to understand that opposing Taiwan independence and maintaining the 1992 Consensus was a way to "avoid war, prevent tragedy, work together and create peace."
The 1992 Consensus is an understanding between the then-ruling KMT and the Chinese Communist Party about there being "one China", while leaving room for different interpretations of what that means. The DPP has consistently rejected the 1992 Consensus, arguing that it undermines Taiwan's sovereignty.
The KMT has traditionally maintained warm ties with China, though Cheng's eagerness to visit contrasts with her predecessors' more cautious approach towards cross-strait relations, some analysts say.
Beijing has refused to hold formal dialogue with Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te, whom they have labelled a "separatist".
Most people in Taiwan consider themselves a sovereign nation. But many also favour keeping the "status quo" in cross-strait relations, neither unifying with China nor formally declaring independence.
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