TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The KMT party has denied rumors that party Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) plans to hold a summit with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Sunday evening, rumors began to swirl after it was reported that the KMT sent officials to China to negotiate a possible Cheng-Xi summit to be held around the Lunar New Year. In the evening, the KMT issued a response denouncing the reports as “pure fabrication,” reported UDN.
Cheng took office as the new KMT leader in November and has since become an outspoken proponent of increased engagement with China, and expressed a willingness to meet with Xi. On Sunday afternoon, Liberty Times reported that the KMT and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office are laying the groundwork for a summit meeting between the leaders.
Citing sources in the KMT, LTN reported that KMT Vice Chair Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) and one other unnamed vice chair made a trip to Beijing last month to meet with TAO Director Song Tao to discuss conditions for a summit meeting next year. However, authorities in Beijing stipulated that the KMT must agree to three requirements to move forward with the meeting, per LTN.
The first is to clearly express a firm opposition to Taiwan’s independence and ensure that President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) proposed defense budget must not be approved. The second stipulation is that no further national security legislation targeting Chinese citizens, spouses, and businesses in Taiwan should advance in the legislature.
The third stipulation, per LTN, is that the KMT must openly adhere to Beijing’s interpretation of “One China.” The party must affirm the goal of unification and acknowledge the so-called “1992 Consensus” agreement moving forward in cross-strait relations.
In the KMT’s response denying the LTN report, the party said claims of insider information are intended to manipulate public perception, decrying the report of Beijing’s three demands as malicious fabrication. The KMT stands by a policy of promoting peaceful cross-strait relations and opposing Taiwan independence, with a mutual understanding based on the “1992 Consensus,” per UDN.
