Taiwan’s opposition leader Cheng Li-wun pledged on Wednesday to embrace the spirit of her party’s founder, Sun Yat-sen, and seek reconciliation with China, praising the country’s achievements since the communist revolution.
Cheng, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, visited China amid rising Chinese military pressure on Taiwan and a standoff in Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament over a $40 billion defence spending plan.
On her first full day in China, Cheng laid a wreath at Sun Yat-sen’s mausoleum in Nanjing, the former capital of the KMT-led Republic of China before its 1949 retreat to Taiwan after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists.
“The core values of Sun Yat-sen’s ideal that ‘all under heaven are equal’ have always been equality, inclusiveness, and unity,” Cheng said, calling for reconciliation across the Taiwan Strait to foster regional peace and prosperity.
Sun Yat-sen, who overthrew China’s last imperial dynasty and founded the Republic of China in 1912, is revered in both Taiwan and mainland China. Mao Zedong called him a “great revolutionary forerunner.”
Cheng highlighted Taiwan’s transformation into a free and democratic society under the KMT while acknowledging the 38-year period of martial law, known as the “white terror.” She also recognized the progress and development achieved on the mainland.
Security was tight for Cheng’s visit, which some students and citizens described as important for promoting peaceful exchanges between Taiwan and China.
Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expressed caution. Wu Cheng, a DPP spokesperson, criticized the KMT for blocking defence spending, emphasizing that peace must be supported by Taiwan’s own strength rather than relying on China.
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau also noted that China uses a mix of military pressure and incentives to create psychological stress, foster internal divisions, and complicate U.S. arms procurement deals.
Cheng emphasized that while she supports Taiwan’s defence capabilities, dialogue and reconciliation must also guide cross-strait relations.