Taiwan KMT Leader Visits China to Promote Peace

Taiwan's opposition leader, Cheng Liwun, departed for China on Tuesday, aiming to meet President Xi Jinping in a bid to foster cross-strait peace amid escalating military tensions and domestic debates over defense spending. As chairwoman of the Kuomintang, Taiwan's largest opposition party, Cheng described the visit as a mission to build stable relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, marking the first such trip by a sitting KMT leader in a decade.

The journey comes at a sensitive time, with Beijing intensifying military activities around Taiwan, which it regards as its territory, and refusing direct talks with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, whom it labels a separatist. Cheng, 56, arrived in Beijing on Thursday, though Chinese officials have not confirmed a meeting with Xi. Her travel coincides with stalled legislative approval for a proposed 40 billion U.S. dollar increase in Taiwan's defense budget over eight years, including purchases of American weapons. The opposition-dominated parliament has delayed the plan, which the ruling Democratic Progressive Party supports as essential for deterring potential threats.

Ahead of the trip, the KMT and DPP exchanged pointed...