Reopening the Door to Dialogue

On April 7-12, Cheng Li-wun, Chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, led a delegation to visit the Chinese mainland at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its general secretary Xi Jinping. This was the first time in a decade that a KMT chairperson had led a delegation to the mainland. During the visit, Xi met with Cheng and delivered important remarks, providing guidance for the development of relations between the two parties and across the Taiwan Straits.

On April 12, as Cheng returned to Taiwan, the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee rolled out a package of 10 policies and measures aimed at boosting exchange and cooperation across the Straits. Covering inter-party communication, infrastructure, travel, trade and culture, the package demonstrates the central authorities’ goodwill toward cross-Straits peace.

For instance, efforts will be made to support the coastal areas of Fujian Province—the mainland region closest to Taiwan Island—in sharing water, electricity and gas supplies with the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu, and to promote the construction of sea-crossing bridges linking them, when conditions permit. Efforts will also be made to help Taiwan’s agricultural and fishery products gain access to mainland trade fairs to expand their sales channels. To boost cultural ties, the mainland will allow qualified TV shows, documentaries and animations from Taiwan to be aired, and permit Taiwan residents to take part in the mainland’s fast-growing micro-drama industry.

Cheng’s visit to the mainland and the release of the 10 policies represent pragmatic steps taken amid a complex and challenging situation across the Taiwan Straits. The announcement of these measures marks an important moment in cross-Straits relations, with the potential to inject momentum into stability and integrated development, while reflecting the shared aspiration on both sides for exchange and cooperation.

Breaking the deadlock

Cheng’s visit to the mainland didn’t just entail an important political dialogue, but was a journey of peace, of tracing heritage and of development, as well as one of profound political importance.

This visit broke the political deadlock that emerged during the tenure of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, which had led to an interruption of high-level cross-Straits dialogue and exchange. During his meeting with Cheng, Xi expressed the central authorities’ policy stance on cross-Straits relations. Both sides emphasized the common political foundation of adhering to the 1992 Consensus and opposing “Taiwan independence,” and pledged to promote peace across the Straits and advance national rejuvenation.

Amid growing concerns over cross-Straits tensions and their impact on Taiwan’s economy and people’s wellbeing, the desire for development, exchange and cooperation has gained ground in Taiwan. Cheng’s visit was a positive response to that public sentiment. It helped strengthen the social consensus on the island in favor of dialogue and engagement.

During her visit, Cheng paid tribute to Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum in Nanjing and his cenotaph in Beijing, emphasizing that people on both sides of the Straits should work together to carry forward Sun’s legacy of rejuvenating China. Sun was the leader of the democratic revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), China’s last imperial dynasty, and the founder of the KMT.

Throughout the trip, Cheng and her delegation witnessed the mainland’s economic and technological achievements through visits to Shanghai’s Yangshan Port, the world’s largest container port, Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, the developer of China’s large passenger aircraft C919, and several AI companies. She also highlighted opportunities for Taiwan businesses under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), pointing to areas such as AI, green and low-carbon development, rural revitalization, and modern services, where the complementary strengths of both sides hold great potential.

According to Cheng, these developments could provide new platforms for Taiwan’s economic growth and youth entrepreneurship, while also boosting confidence in the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.

Laying the foundations

In 2005, Lien Chan, then Chairman of the KMT, led a delegation to the mainland, a visit dubbed the “ice-breaking trip,” inaugurating the first dialogue between the CPC and the KMT since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

In 2016, then KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu led a delegation to the mainland after cross-Straits relations had deteriorated due to the DPP’s rule, maintaining cross-Straits stability and continuing the KMT’s ice-breaking efforts. Cheng’s visit to the mainland this time welcomed a new stage in the ice-breaking relay.

When Lien visited the mainland in 2005, Cheng accompanied him as the KMT spokesperson. This time, she visited the mainland as the KMT chairwoman. This shift in roles is a symbol of the tortuous progress and passing on of ideas in the interaction between both parties.

Time and circumstances have all changed, but one thing remains unchanged—their adherence to the 1992 Consensus.

In 1949, the KMT was defeated by the CPC in the civil war and retreated to Taiwan. Over the next four decades, the two sides remained largely isolated due to political hostilities, though both continued to recognize that they belong to one China. The KMT, which governed the Taiwan region at the time, prepared for a return to the mainland.

The Taiwan authorities administer a region that consists of Taiwan Province, including Taiwan Island, its affiliated islands and the Penghu Archipelago, as well as Kinmen, Matsu and several other islands that are geographically part of Fujian Province.

By the early 1990s, calls for cross-Straits exchange had grown louder. In November 1992, the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation met in Hong Kong and reached a consensus: Both sides verbally expressed that they belong to one China. This became known as the 1992 Consensus. Its essence is that the two sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China, that their relationship is not “state to state” and that they will work toward national reunification.

The secessionist DPP refuses to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus and pursues policies aimed at “de-Sinicization.” During its tenures, it erects barriers to cross-Straits exchange and seeks to collaborate with external forces in actions widely seen as provocative. As a result, cross-Straits relations tend to deteriorate.

Against this backdrop, Cheng’s recent visit to the mainland represented an effort to promote cross-Straits dialogue through inter-party exchange and to help ease the political tensions that had emerged.

Facts have demonstrated that the 1992 Consensus serves as an anchor for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. When the consensus is upheld, cross-Straits exchange, cooperation and peaceful development follow. When it is abandoned, tensions arise. For the sake of stability and development, a return by the Taiwan authorities to the 1992 Consensus is widely seen as necessary, in turn allowing Taiwan to find new room for growth.

Benefiting both sides

For a long time, despite obstruction by the DPP authorities, peace, development, exchange and cooperation have remained the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan. Farmers, fishermen, the tourism industry and small and medium-sized enterprises have all suffered greatly from the interruption in cross-Straits exchange. Taiwan youth, too, yearn for broader opportunities. Cheng’s visit and the mainland’s 10 new policies toward Taiwan directly address these demands for economic growth and improved livelihoods, bringing tangible benefits to compatriots in Taiwan.

For instance, as part of the new policies, the mainland will promote the resumption of individual tours for Shanghai and Fujian residents to Taiwan. A pilot scheme allowing mainland individuals to tour Taiwan was introduced in 2011, but was suspended in 2019, a few years after the DPP came to power in Taiwan and stepped up efforts to seek “Taiwan independence.”

The positive interaction between the CPC and the KMT this month will inject new impetus into the joint efforts of people on both sides to achieve national rejuvenation. This call to action, advocated by Xi to revive China as an ancient civilization, echoes Sun’s vision. It will also help more Taiwan compatriots realize that the future of the island lies in national reunification and that the wellbeing of the people in Taiwan hinges on the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Although challenges still lie ahead, as long as both sides continue to adhere to the common political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and continuously expand exchange and cooperation, it will be possible to build mutual trust and resolve differences.

The Taiwan question arose as a result of weakness and chaos in the nation, and it will be resolved as national rejuvenation becomes a reality.