Taiwan\u2019s newly elected opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun, took office on Saturday with a stark warning about the risk of war with China, while vowing to usher in what she called a \u201cnew era of peace\u201d across the Taiwan Strait.<\/strong><\/p>\nCheng, 55, a former lawmaker, assumed leadership of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan\u2019s largest opposition party, amid heightened military and political tensions with Beijing, which claims the self-governed island as its territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the worst of times. The Taiwan Strait faces grave military danger and the world is watching closely,\u201d Cheng told party members during an inauguration ceremony at a packed indoor high school stadium in Taipei. \u201cTaiwan\u2019s security faces the constant threat of war.\u201d<\/p>\n
The KMT, which historically advocates closer ties with China, has long positioned itself as the party of dialogue, in contrast to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which firmly rejects Beijing\u2019s sovereignty claims.<\/p>\n
Cheng succeeds Eric Chu, a more internationally minded leader who refrained from visiting China during his tenure beginning in 2021. By contrast, Cheng has hinted at a shift toward warmer cross-Strait engagement. Her election last month was warmly received in Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping sending a congratulatory message urging efforts to \u201cadvance reunification.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chinese social media users have dubbed Cheng the \u201creunification goddess,\u201d a label she dismissed lightheartedly this week, saying, \u201cIf they are wrong or untrue, just laugh it off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The KMT\u2019s new Deputy Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen met with Song Tao, head of China\u2019s Taiwan Affairs Office, during a visit to China earlier this week\u2014signaling renewed communication between the two sides.<\/p>\n
In her maiden speech, Cheng avoided detailed policy pronouncements, instead emphasizing the need for peace and stability. \u201cThe KMT will definitely be the party that opens a new era of cross-Strait peace and leads Taiwan forward,\u201d she declared.<\/p>\n
Cheng also opposes President Lai Ching-te\u2019s push to expand defence spending\u2014an initiative strongly supported by the United States\u2014arguing that dialogue, not armament, is the key to security.<\/p>\n
While the KMT lost the presidential race earlier this year, it and its ally, the Taiwan People\u2019s Party, hold a majority in parliament, complicating the DPP\u2019s legislative agenda. Cheng\u2019s first political test will come in next year\u2019s local elections, a key barometer ahead of the 2028 presidential contest.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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