TAIPEI – A senior leader of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s main opposition party, will visit China this week and meet its top Taiwan policymaker, the party said on Monday, amid continued military and political tensions between the two sides.
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. For the past three years, it has ramped up pressure on Taiwan with moves such as staging regular military drills near the island.
The KMT said its deputy chairman Andrew Hsia would leave for China on Wednesday and meet Mr Song Tao, the newly appointed head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, in a rare high-level interaction between top politicians from Taiwan and China, given the current strains.
Mr Hsia, a former Taiwanese diplomat and one-time head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, and his delegation will “conduct exchanges and dialogue on the basis of equality and dignity”, the KMT said.
They will “reflect Taiwan’s latest public concerns about the security of the Taiwan Strait and expectations for regional peace and stability”, the party added.
The Mainland Affairs Council said the KMT informed it of the trip, adding that Taiwanese politicians who visit China should “reflect” the Taiwan people’s insistence on maintaining democracy and peace and not enter into any authorised negotiations.
The KMT traditionally favours close ties with China, but strongly denies being pro-Beijing. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said it welcomed Mr Hsia’s visit.
He visited China last August – a trip condemned by Taiwan’s government – shortly after Beijing staged war games near Taiwan to express anger at a visit to Taipei by then United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
China has refused to speak with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration since she took office in 2016, believing she is a separatist, and has rebuffed frequent calls from Ms Tsai for dialogue to resume.
The KMT has defended its outreach to China, saying it is important to keep lines of communication open. The party’s statement on Mr Hsia’s visit said that facing the current “stalemate” in relations across the Taiwan Strait, “it is natural not to sit idly by”.
“After returning to Taiwan, the visiting delegation will truthfully reflect what it has seen and heard to Taiwan society and government departments to facilitate the formulation and promotion of follow-up policies,” the KMT added. REUTERS
