Taipei: Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen stated that any potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping would strictly adhere to the "1992 Consensus" and oppose Taiwan independence. This announcement comes amidst comments from President Lai Ching-te, who questioned the conditionality of a possible "Cheng-Xi meeting," citing opposition parties' actions against defense and national security budgets.

According to Focus Taiwan, Cheng emphasized that cross-strait dialogue is based on the well-established "1992 Consensus," a political understanding from 1992 between Taiwan's KMT government and China. The KMT interprets this consensus as a mutual acknowledgment of "one China," with each side free to define "China" in its own terms. However, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has rejected this consensus, arguing that it leaves no room for interpreting "China" as the Republic of China and implies acceptance of China's sovereignty over Taiwan.

Cheng plans to visit China next year to potentially meet Xi, though she insists that the visit will not proceed if the meeting cannot occur under her stated terms. She dismissed reports suggesting Beijing imposed conditions on the meeting, such as blocking defense budgets and reaffirming a path toward unification, as unfounded.

Cheng reiterated that there are no preconditions beyond the 1992 Consensus and opposing Taiwan independence. She challenged President Lai to consider a similar approach, suggesting that acknowledging the 1992 Consensus could facilitate a Lai-Xi meeting.

Cheng also highlighted visits by senior KMT figures to China as efforts to foster goodwill and ease tensions. With significant elections approaching, the party aims to complete strategic visits to Beijing and Washington in the first half of the next year to maximize its limited resources.