Cheng Li-wun, the newly elected leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party, took office Saturday warning that the island faces its most dangerous moment in decades and pledging to seek peace with Beijing.
Cheng, 55, assumed leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT) during a ceremony in Taipei, telling supporters the Taiwan Strait is “under grave military threat” and that her party would “open a new era of cross-Strait peace.” Her remarks came as tensions between China and Taiwan continue to rise, with Beijing ramping up military drills near the island.
‘’This is the worst of times. The Taiwan Strait faces grave military danger, and the world is watching closely,” Cheng told party members gathered at an indoor stadium. “Taiwan’s security faces the constant threat of war.”
The KMT has long favored dialogue with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, in contrast to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. Cheng has signaled a tilt toward even closer engagement than her predecessor, Eric Chu, who avoided visiting China during his three-year term.
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Soon after Cheng’s election last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message urging joint efforts to promote “reunification.” The new KMT leader brushed off online labels calling her the “reunification goddess,” saying she takes such nicknames lightly. “If they are wrong or untrue, just laugh it off,” she told reporters earlier this week.
Cheng’s deputy, Hsiao Hsu-tsen, traveled to China this week and met Song Tao, head of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, marking the first high-level contact between the two sides since her election. While Cheng has not outlined a specific policy agenda for cross-Strait relations, she reaffirmed that the KMT “will lead Taiwan forward through peace, not confrontation.”
She has also voiced opposition to President Lai Ching-te’s push for higher defense spending — a policy strongly backed by the United States — arguing that dialogue and economic cooperation offer better paths to stability.
Although the KMT lost last year’s presidential race, it remains a powerful force in Taiwan’s parliament, where it and its ally, the smaller Taiwan People’s Party, hold a combined majority of seats. That majority has complicated the DPP government’s efforts to pass key budgets and defense bills.
Cheng’s immediate challenge will be preparing the KMT for local elections late next year. The DPP, led by President Lai, continues to defend Taiwan’s autonomy and expand military cooperation with Washington, while Beijing insists that “reunification” is inevitable.