The leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party said Friday she hopes to maintain engagement with the United States on the island’s defense capabilities, speaking on a two-week visit to the US aimed at building trust with Washington.
Addressing reporters in the US capital, Kuomintang Chairman Cheng Li-wun said the party has expressed support for Taiwan’s defense capabilities and hopes to “continue to maintain and deepen our cooperation with the US in this regard”.
She did not comment specifically on a US$14 billion arms sale to Taiwan that remains under review. Such sales are a thorny issue between Washington and Beijing.
Cheng in April became the first KMT leader in a decade to visit Beijing and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinpingand her trip to the US comes just a few weeks after President Donald Trump himself held a summit with Xi.
The KMT, which has long advocated closer ties with China, recently blocked the Taiwanese government’s plan to spend nearly $40 billion on critical weapons such as US weapons and domestically produced drones.
In Washington, the KMT faces concerns about its more pro-engagement stance compared to President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party.
Cheng has shaken Taiwanese politics since her sudden rise to the top of the party last year and drew criticism for being too pro-China.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it.
On Friday, Cheng hit back at critics, saying “seeking peaceful dialogue across the Taiwan Strait does not mean abandoning Taiwan’s defense capabilities.”
She added that she met nine members of Congress during her visit, along with academics and others, declaring the trip a success.
She said Trump’s recent warning to the island against making a declaration of independence was also in line with KMT positions.
After concluding his state visit to Beijing last month, Trump said in an interview that “I’m not looking for anybody to become independent. And, you know, we have to travel 9,500 miles to fight a war. I’m not looking for that.”
Cheng’s itinerary also included stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and New York.
