MAY 4, 2015 6:02 AM May 4, 2015 6:02 am
Eric Chu, left, chairman of the Kuomintang, met with President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing on Monday.Credit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
The head of Taiwan’s governing party told President Xi Jinping of China during a meeting in Beijing on Monday that he hoped the two sides could forge greater cooperation on issues of regional interest, including economic integration and disaster response.
Mr. Xi said that he hoped the two sides could continue to develop their relationship “to benefit people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” according to the state-run news agency Xinhua.
The visit by the Taiwanese party leader, Eric Chu, chairman of the Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, was the first official trip by a head of the party to the mainland since 2009. It represents a politically fraught challenge for Mr. Chu. His party has pitched itself as best able to manage relations with Beijing, an edge that helped President Ma Ying-jeou win his election in 2008 and re-election four years later.
But as Mr. Ma pushed trade deals and greater economic exchange with the mainland, Taiwanese voters raised concerns about Beijing’s growing economic influence over Taiwan and whether the benefits of such trade helped average citizens.
Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang forces fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing to Mao Zedong’s Communists in the civil war. Beijing claims Taiwan, which is self-ruled, as a part of its territory that it says must eventually be unified with the mainland.
One year ago, student-led protesters occupied Taiwan’s legislature over efforts by the Kuomintang to approve a trade-in-services pact with Beijing. In November, the Kuomintang suffered a heavy defeat in local elections, partly because of concerns over its China policy.
Mr. Chu was one of the few successful Kuomintang candidates for high-profile positions in that campaign, winning re-election to the mayoral seat for New Taipei City, an area surrounding Taipei, Taiwan’s capital. He took over as chairman of the Kuomintang from Mr. Ma, who stepped down from that role after the local election defeat.
During Monday’s meeting, Mr. Xi and Mr. Chu emphasized the longstanding relationship between the two sides, including the “1992 Consensus,” an understanding between representatives of both sides of the Taiwan Strait that there is only one China, but that both sides have their own understanding of what that is.
Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party has been critical of the consensus and denies the two sides reached any such understanding.
Beijing often thwarts Taiwan’s efforts to join international activities out of fears that such participation represents a recognition of Taiwan’s sovereignty. Mr. Chu pitched the 1992 Consensus on Monday as a foundation that would allow Taiwan greater participation in regional affairs.
“I hope that in the future we can, under the basis of the 1992 Consensus, promote mutual cooperation on regional peace, regional environmental protection and regional economic cooperation,” Mr. Chu said.
He mentioned regional trade and investment deals, including the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. China blocked Taiwan from joining the bank as a founding member over a dispute about what name Taiwan would use. Taiwan’s formal name remains Republic of China, which Beijing rejects, though Beijing has yet to say publicly what name might be acceptable.
