For many Taiwanese, an opposition leader鈥檚 rare trip to China hit the wrong notes
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Ann Scott Tyson Staff writer
| Taipei and Hualien, Taiwan
Cheng Li-wun, the brashly pro-China leader of Taiwan鈥檚 main opposition party, appeared to strike all the right chords during her six-day 鈥減eace journey鈥� to the mainland that ended on Sunday. The new chairwoman of the Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, drew broad smiles from Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping when she said the people of Taiwan and China all belong to the same 鈥淐hinese nation,鈥� and pledged to improve cross-strait relations.
But back on the island, this diplomacy might backfire.
China鈥檚 Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan, but claims the island as part of its territory and vows to retake it 鈥� by force if necessary. Beijing seeks to empower the Kuomintang (KMT) while shunning Taiwan鈥檚 current president, Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party, as a 鈥渟eparatist.鈥� The DPP, which has led Taiwan since 2016, rejects China鈥檚 claims of sovereignty and says the island鈥檚 people must determine their own future.
Why We Wrote This
Taiwan鈥檚 opposition leader has returned from a trip to the Chinese mainland, where she pushed for cross-strait dialogue. But her diplomatic efforts could backfire on the democratic island, where a sense of local identity is growing.
From China鈥檚 perspective, Ms. Cheng 鈥渋s one of the most pro-China KMT chairpeople that we鈥檝e ever seen,鈥� given her embrace of the common Chinese identity and her openness to Taiwan鈥檚 unification with China, says Dafydd Fell, director of the Centre of Taiwan Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Beijing hopes that Ms. Cheng can succeed politically 鈥� including in a possible presidential run in 2028 鈥� and draw the self-governed island of 23 million people closer to China.
Yet Ms. Cheng鈥檚 positions are often at odds with mainstream public opinion here in Taiwan, where most people want to preserve the status quo, and increasingly view themselves as Taiwanese, not Chinese.
鈥淲hen it comes to identity, she is quite out of step with the average Taiwan voter,鈥� says Dr. Fell.
On a street lined with sinewy banyan trees in Taipei鈥檚 Songshan District, school administrator Huang Huiming agrees that Beijing鈥檚 bet might not pan out.
鈥淭aiwan is a democratic, autonomous country,鈥� says Ms. Huang, waiting for her bus as children play nearby. 鈥淕oing there [China] is tantamount to bowing down and submitting,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his [trip] will hurt the KMT 鈥� it could get wiped out because most people want Taiwan to be independent.鈥�
Coercion galvanizes locals
Ms. Cheng鈥檚 trip included the first talks in a decade between the KMT and CCP party heads.
Facing Ms. Cheng across long, mahogany tables in Beijing鈥檚 imposing Great Hall of the People on Friday, Mr. Xi joined her in hailing historic and blood ties between Taiwan and China. 鈥淭aiwan compatriots have never forgotten ... that their souls belong to the Chinese nation,鈥� he said.
Yet, in Taiwan, a sense of local identity is surging. Two-thirds of the population now see themselves as purely Taiwanese, up from about one-fifth 30 years ago. Only 2% now identify as purely Chinese, down from 25% in 1992.
That鈥檚 certainly true for Michael Wu, a retired Taiwanese businessman who ran factories in China and across Asia. He is highly critical of Ms. Cheng鈥檚 overtures to Beijing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like she鈥檚 Xi Jinping鈥檚 daughter,鈥� he says over a dinner of fried oysters and noodles in Taipei鈥檚 bustling Ningxia night market.
With Ms. Cheng at the helm, Mr. Wu believes the KMT will lose elections. Right now, 鈥渨e are 100% free,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e can criticize the president and the government. But once under the Communist Party 鈥� can we open our mouths? No!鈥�
To be sure, some people praised Ms. Cheng鈥檚 overture. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to have exchanges,鈥� says Mr. Li, who sells fried snacks of squid, chicken, and tofu at the market. He asked to withhold his given name to protect his privacy.
Yet people on Taiwan are also acutely aware of Beijing鈥檚 escalating military, economic, and political coercion toward the island, which fuels skepticism about the mainland鈥檚 intentions. Taiwan鈥檚 Ministry of Defense reported several Chinese warships and aircraft around the island during Ms. Cheng鈥檚 visit.
鈥淭he military threat it [China] poses to us is becoming increasingly severe,鈥� Defense Minister Wellington Koo told lawmakers at Taiwan鈥檚 Legislative Yuan on Thursday, after Ms. Cheng arrived in Shanghai. Her trip took place as KMT representatives boycotted talks on Taiwan鈥檚 defense spending.
Mr. Xi underscored that threat on Friday during his meeting with Ms. Cheng in Beijing.
鈥淲hen the family is harmonious, all things will prosper,鈥� he said, referring to people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as 鈥渙ne family.鈥� 鈥淭aiwan independence is the chief culprit in undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait. We will absolutely not tolerate or condone it,鈥� he said.
Yet such warnings only serve to galvanize many on Taiwan, including Mr. Wu. If China were to invade, 鈥渕ost Taiwanese people would rather fight and sacrifice,鈥� says the retired businessman. 鈥淲e need to protect our land, our factories, our families.鈥�
A divided opposition
Even among KMT鈥檚 backers, reactions to the trip were mixed. This reflects strong divisions between the more pragmatic and ideological wings of the opposition party, which began as a revolutionary group in mainland China before losing a civil war and retreating to Taiwan in 1949.
鈥淭he KMT is remarkably resilient, but it is still deeply divided,鈥� says Kharis Templeman, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and program manager of the Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific. China, he says, 鈥渕ay overestimate how strong Cheng Li-wun鈥檚 support base is.鈥�
Beijing extended what Ms. Cheng called some 鈥済ifts鈥� for Taiwan after her visit, including an easing of Chinese curbs on tourists going to Taiwan, and facilitating imports of Taiwan agricultural products and CCP-approved television shows. 鈥淭hey are offering some carrots鈥� 鈥� a regular feature of Beijing鈥檚 鈥渟elective engagement,鈥� Dr. Templeman says.
Some KMT followers said they appreciate Ms. Cheng鈥檚 outreach for peace, but stressed that they oppose any change in Taiwan鈥檚 status.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want war,鈥� says Ms. Chen, a KMT supporter who withheld her first name to protect her privacy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a bad thing that [Ms. Cheng] makes this communication,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut Taiwan is already a country. I don鈥檛 want unification with China.鈥�
In the KMT stronghold of Hualien, a coastal city of palm trees and windswept beaches in eastern Taiwan, those divisions are palpable.
Yong Ge, owner of a roadside roasted chicken stand, wipes his face with a towel after opening a huge cauldron to check on the sizzling birds. He says he opposes Ms. Cheng鈥檚 trip.
鈥淵ou see this?鈥� he says, waving a 100 New Taiwan dollar bill (about $3.16). 鈥淭aiwan鈥檚 currency isn鈥檛 the same as China鈥檚. Our life isn鈥檛 the same, either. We have different systems. How can we come together?鈥�
Down the street, however, a group of two dozen air force veterans hold a reunion in a seafood restaurant, each of them sporting blue shirts 鈥� the KMT鈥檚 color 鈥� bearing flags of the Republic of China, which is Taiwan鈥檚 official name for itself.
Like other older backers of the KMT, they say supporting Ms. Cheng and her mission is more or less automatic.
鈥淎sk any of us, and we鈥檒l all say the same thing,鈥� says one veteran, Li Chihkuo, sitting at a round table trading jokes with old comrades. 鈥淲e served under the KMT.鈥�
