Taiwan opposition leader seeks to ease Washington\u2019s concerns over\nChina stance during US trip<\/p>\n
Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), has been on a\ntwo-week US trip following her April visit to China, where she met\nPresident Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON: The leader of Taiwan\u2019s main opposition party said on\nFriday (Jun 12) that she had used a visit to the United States to\ncorrect \u201cmany misunderstandings\u201d about her pro-engagement approach to\nChina, amid strong criticism from hawks in Washington.<\/p>\n
Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan\u2019s largest\nopposition party, has been on a two-week US trip following her April\nvisit to China, where she met President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n
She told reporters she had met nine members of the US Congress from\ncommittees dealing with finance, defence and foreign affairs, as well as\nacademics and representatives of think tanks.<\/p>\n
She said there were \u201cmany misunderstandings\u201d about the KMT\u2019s\napproach.<\/p>\n
Cheng\u2019s party, which along with its small ally the Taiwan People\u2019s\nParty has a majority in parliament, has faced sharp criticism in\nWashington for cutting by a third government plans to spend an extra\nUS$40 billion on arms.<\/p>\n
Taiwan\u2019s opposition-controlled legislature last month passed a US$25\nbillion special defence budget to fund major US arms purchases, down\nfrom the original $40 billion proposed.<\/p>\n
China hawks say the spending is essential to strengthen Taiwan\u2019s\ndefences, with Republican Senator Dan Sullivan warning that the KMT was\n\u201cplaying with fire\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Chinese, Cheng said she believed her meetings had allowed\nher interlocutors to see \u201cthe real KMT and the real me\u201d, adding in\nEnglish that she was \u201chonest and candid \u2026 and they can tell it when they\nmeet me in person\u201d.<\/p>\n
She said US think-tank experts had suggested that the KMT should be\nmore proactive in proposing its own defence spending legislation and\nadded that the party was seriously considering this.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo initiate the cross-strait dialogue with Xi Jinping doesn\u2019t mean\nthat we will give up the deterrence strength in Taiwan, and, of course,\nit doesn\u2019t mean that we will compromise or give up our democracy and\nfreedom,\u201d Cheng said, dismissing accusations that she was doing\nBeijing\u2019s bidding.<\/p>\n
Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory\nand has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its\ncontrol.<\/p>\n
The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend\nitself and has traditionally been its most important international\nbacker and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic\nties.<\/p>\n
Cheng praised both US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi,\nwelcoming their summit last month as contributing to peace and\nstability.<\/p>\n
She declined to comment on Trump\u2019s remark after meeting Xi that a\npending US$14 billion US arms sale to Taiwan was a \u201cvery good\nnegotiating chip\u201d, words that caused alarm in Taipei.<\/p>\n
She said the issue had not come up in her Washington meetings.<\/p>\n
She added that KMT is committed to the defence of Taiwan but that\npeace is possible by taking permanent secession off the table.<\/p>\n
She also said that she shares common ground with Trump, who said\nafter his May trip to Beijing that he was not \u201clooking to have somebody\ngo independent\u201d or fight a war thousands of miles away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think our basic stances are the same \u2014 that is peace and stability\nin the Taiwan Strait and to avoid any unnecessary war,\u201d Cheng said after\na three-day visit to the nation\u2019s capital, where she met American\nlawmakers and scholars.<\/p>\n
Cheng said she also met Trump administration representatives but\nwould not offer more information.<\/p>\n
Her two-week trip to the US to promote her party\u2019s approach to the\nTaiwan Strait has come at a time of rising uncertainty in US-Taiwan\nrelations.<\/p>\n
Xi has warned of a possible clash if the US does not properly handle\nthe issue of Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Congress has pledged to better arm Taiwan, giving preliminary\napproval to a US$14 billion arms sales package. The Trump administration\nhas yet to greenlight it.<\/p>\n
Cheng, whose party agrees that both sides of the strait belong to the\nsame Chinese nation, has been promoting dialogue with Beijing. She said\nit is necessary for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.<\/p>\n
Beijing has cut off official contact with Taipei\u2019s government for the\npast decade, because Taiwan\u2019s ruling party does not recognise the \u201cOne\nChina\u201d principle.<\/p>\n
Asked about her meeting with Xi, Cheng described the Chinese leader\nas \u201cvery gentle and very nice and very real\u201d and said she believed Xi\nwanted to address the Taiwan issue \u201cwith peaceful means and avoid\nwar\u201d.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/taiwan-opposition-leader-seeks-to-ease-washingtons-concerns-over-china-stance-during-us-trip-1781333413", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }