CPC-KMT Leaders Meet for First Time in 10 Years… 'Oppose Independence' Echoed in Unison (Comprehensive)

Xi Jinping: "Strengthen Exchanges with Taiwan's Parties and Social Figures, Including KMT… Future of Cross-Strait Relations in Hands of Chinese People"

'Pro-China' KMT Chairman Eric Chu: "Taiwan Strait Will Not Become Chessboard for Foreign Interference"

Eric Chu, Chairman of Taiwan's Kuomintang Party [EPA Yonhap News photo. Reproduction and DB prohibited]

Chinese President Xi Jinping (General Secretary of the Communist Party of China) and Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu of Taiwan expressed their opposition to "Taiwan independence" in unison in Beijing on the 10th.

Chairman Chu, who visited China at the invitation of President Xi, showed strong alignment with China, stating that the Taiwan Strait would not become a "chessboard for foreign interference" and invoking Xi's signature political slogan of a "community of shared future."

According to Taiwan's United Daily News and other sources, President Xi held a "KMT-CPC meeting" with Chairman Chu at the Great Hall of the People's East Hall in Beijing on the morning of the 10th, stating, "It has been 10 years since the KMT-CPC meeting, and the gathering of the leaders of the two parties here holds significant meaning for the relations between the two parties and cross-strait relations."

In his opening remarks, President Xi said, "The world today is far from peaceful, and peace is precious. All compatriots on both sides of the Strait are Chinese people, and it is a common wish for one family to achieve peace, development, exchange, and cooperation."

He stated, "On the common political foundation of upholding the '1992 Consensus' and opposing Taiwan independence, we will strengthen exchanges and dialogues with various parties and organizations in Taiwan, including the Kuomintang, and people from all walks of life. We will promote cross-strait peace, the well-being of our compatriots, and the rejuvenation of the nation, firmly holding the future of cross-strait relations in the hands of the Chinese people."

President Xi emphasized, "Although the world is undergoing accelerated changes unseen in a century, and regardless of how the international and Taiwan situations evolve, the general direction of human development and progress remains unchanged, the great trend of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation remains unchanged, and the great flow of closer ties between compatriots on both sides of the Strait remains unchanged. This is an inevitability of history, and we are confident in this."

He added, "The Chinese nation is a great nation with a civilization spanning over 5,000 years. All ethnic groups, including our Taiwan compatriots, have jointly pioneered the vast territory of the motherland and created a unified multi-ethnic state. We have jointly forged the common belief that 'the country cannot be divided, the nation cannot be thrown into chaos, the ethnic groups cannot be separated, and civilization cannot be broken.' Although we have experienced historical storms, our Taiwan compatriots have never forgotten that their roots are in the mainland, their hearts are turned towards the motherland, and their souls are bound to China."

Chairman Chu stated, "We are currently facing a very chaotic and unstable era. The people on both sides of the Strait live under different systems, but we must respect each other and face each other. With the continuous efforts of the two parties, the Taiwan Strait will no longer be a focal point of potential conflict, and even less so a chessboard for foreign interference."

Chairman Chu emphasized, "I believe that peace is a morality and value shared by both sides of the Strait. Both sides should move beyond political confrontation and jointly explore and build a 'community of shared future for win-win cross-strait development,' explore institutional solutions to prevent war, and make the Taiwan Strait a model for resolving conflicts for world peace."

He added, "On the common political foundation of upholding the '1992 Consensus' and opposing Taiwan independence, both sides of the Strait should plan and build more institutionalized and sustainable dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, so that cross-strait peaceful development is irreversible and all sources of conflict are fundamentally eliminated."

This so-called "KMT-CPC meeting," a summit between the Communist Party of China and Taiwan's Kuomintang, is the first in 10 years since the visit to China by then-KMT Chairman Hung Hsiu-chu in 2016.

Chairman Chu, who is classified as having a 'pro-China' stance, is visiting China from the 7th for a six-day, five-night trip at the invitation of President Xi.

Since being elected KMT chairman in October last year, Chairman Chu has actively expressed his intention to visit China, while clashing with President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who has a 'pro-US and anti-China' stance.

Within and outside Taiwan, some observers interpret this visit to China as a step that brings him even closer to China, citing Chairman Chu's repeated statements such as "I should be able to say 'I am Chinese'," which demonstrate his 'pro-China' leanings, and the KMT's recent obstruction of the special defense budget ordinance led by the DPP (which includes plans to purchase weapons from the US).

Attending the meeting on this day were top Chinese leaders including Wang Huning, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (4th in official rank), and Cai Qi, Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee (5th in rank), as well as Zheng Shanjie, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission and head of macroeconomics, and Song Tao, Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, the body responsible for Taiwan affairs.