No deals on mainland China visit, Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai warns KMT chairwoman

Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai has warned the chairwoman of the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) against engaging in talks or agreements involving government authority when she visits mainland China next month.

Cheng Li-wun’s coming visit has rattled Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and exposed unease even within KMT ranks – highlighting mounting friction over the opposition outreach to Beijing amid heightened tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Cheng is expected to lead a delegation to mainland China from April 7 to 12, with a possible meeting with Communist Party leader Xi Jinping drawing scrutiny in Taipei.

Speaking in the legislature on Tuesday, Cho said that any cross-strait engagement must comply with existing laws and stressed that no individual or group was authorised to negotiate on behalf of the government.

Talks involving Taiwan’s interests, security or public authority “must strictly follow legal requirements”, he said, adding that engagement under the framework of “one China” or the “1992 consensus” would “not be beneficial to Taiwan”.

“Public opinion in Taiwan consistently shows that people do not accept the ‘1992 consensus’ as a shared basis, nor do they believe the world follows a ‘one China’ framework,” Cho said.

South China Morning Post