Xi meets Taiwan opposition leaders: 'Peace is a common desire'
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's reaction: 'China's incessant harassment in the grey zone and military threats in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding island chain have seriously undermined peace and stability in the region'
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun in Beijing today. Cheng is the first Kuomintang president to visit China in the past decade. The delegation visited Jiangsu province and Shanghai before arriving in the capital.
Xi to opposition leader: "Common desire for peace and cooperation"
"Our compatriots on both sides" of the Taiwan Strait "are both Chinese, and we need peace, development, communication and cooperation. This is a common desire'. This was said by the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to the leader of Taiwan's main opposition party, Cheng Li-wun, number one of the Kuomintang (KMT), during their meeting in Beijing. Xi - reports the 'South China Morning Post' - expressed full confidence that the peoples of both countries will come closer together and unite. 'The historical trend of compatriots on both sides of the Straits coming closer and uniting will not change, this is a certainty of history, and we are fully confident of it,' Xi said at the beginning of his face-to-face meeting with Cheng.
Opposition leader to Xi: 'We work together to avoid war'
China and Taiwan should work together to 'avoid war'. This was stated by the leader of the democratic island's opposition to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing. "Both sides should avoid political confrontation and seek a systemic solution to prevent and avoid war, so that the Taiwan Strait can become a model of peaceful conflict resolution in the world," Kuomintang Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun told Xi.
Taiwan President: Beijing threats undermine peace
"China's incessant harassment in the grey zone and military threats in the Taiwan Strait and the surrounding island chain have severely undermined peace and stability in the region." Lai Ching-te, president of Taiwan, wrote this on social media, as reported by Afp. The post comes on the day Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing with Cheng Li-wun, the leader of the Kuomintang, Taiwan's main opposition party.
Moreover, today marks the 47th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, which, as Lai wrote on social media, "has long been a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations". "I am confident that our strong cooperation - spanning the areas of security, trade, technology and many others - will continue to spur innovation and help safeguard peace in the region," the Taiwanese president wrote.
