{"id":2613865,"date":"2026-06-14T05:06:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T09:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taiwan-opposition-leader-praises-gentle-xi-jinping\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T05:06:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T09:06:01","slug":"taiwan-opposition-leader-praises-gentle-xi-jinping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taiwan-opposition-leader-praises-gentle-xi-jinping\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan opposition leader praises &#8216;gentle&#8217; Xi Jinping"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftaiwan-opposition-leader-praises-gentle-xi-jinping%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2613865&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/taiwan\/\">Taiwan\u2019s<\/a> conservative opposition leader has a very unusual problem. She needs to get close to the communist dictator threatening to conquer her country \u2014 but not so close that the voting public starts thinking they\u2019re actually friends. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kuomintang Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun sat down with American reporters on Friday at the Jefferson Hotel in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"260\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, where she reflected on her two-week tour of the United States. She has visited world-class universities such as Harvard and Columbia, met with congressional members from both chambers, and spoken with some of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> closest allies.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4607662\/lebanon-army-withdraw-israel-troop-advance\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Lebanese army withdraws from southern village after Israeli troops advance nearby<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4607396\/us-killed-tren-de-aragua-leader-venezuela-trump\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>US killed Tren de Aragua leader in coordination with Venezuela, Trump says<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4607321\/uae-release-billions-dollars-iran\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Report says UAE released billions of dollars to Iran but foreign ministry denies transfer<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of her goals on this trip was to advocate against her own island\u2019s sovereignty, characterizing self-declared independence as a frivolous and illegitimate provocation that could drag American soldiers into a war with Beijing. Her other goal was to convey to U.S. leaders that, despite that stance \u2014 and whatever her opponents might tell them behind her back \u2014 she is not some kind of crypto-communist.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSome of [the people I met with] chose to tell me voluntarily that there were rumors about me before my arrival in D.C. \u2026 to deter my meeting with them,\u201d Cheng told the reporters. \u201cEven so, they decided to still meet with me in person and to try to clarify those rumors.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cheng Li-wun, the chairwoman of Taiwan\u2019s main opposition Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, speaks with reporters during a news conference on Friday, June 12, 2026, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m really honest and candid and real and very sincere, and they can tell it. They can tell when they meet me in person,\u201d Cheng said with a smile. \u201cSo, maybe some of them were so surprised that I\u2019m like this and the KMT is not like what [opponents] portray.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cheng and the KMT are socially conservative <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"232\">Chinese <\/a>nationalists. The party founded Taiwan as a Chinese government-in-exile after fleeing the mainland during the Communist Revolution.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They agree with Chinese paramount leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/xi-jinping\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"233\">Xi Jinping<\/a> that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it. This is not a new or novel position. In fact, it was the codified consensus between China and Taiwan beginning in 1992. That agreement allowed cross-strait relations between the feuding governments to thaw, bonded as they were by shared Chinese identity. But that consensus began to fall apart after Beijing\u2019s \u201cone country, two systems\u201d arrangement with Hong Kong resulted in a 2019 martial law crackdown and total subjugation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Taiwanese public began favoring total independence in response, and the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4578799\/trump-snub-xi-promise-first-direct-talk-taiwan-president-50-years\/\">Democratic Progressive Party<\/a> \u2014 which has been in power for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4489947\/taiwan-cultural-revolution-progressives-china\/\">over a decade<\/a> \u2014 has adopted the rhetoric that Taiwan is already a sovereign country independent from the mainland. Beijing does not approve, and the saber-rattling has reached <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4453141\/china-threatens-strike-separatist-forces-taiwan\/\">deafening levels<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe DPP was not very responsible in servicing the so-called \u2018two-state theory,\u2019 which caused the disruption of cross-strait dialogues and communication,\u201d Cheng said of the rival party. \u201cWe saw a deterioration of the cross-strait relations, and without communications and dialogues, the war can happen at any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The war she was referencing is the theoretical endpoint of all Taiwanese politics \u2014 the hypothetical day the People\u2019s Liberation Army calls to collect on Chinese sovereignty over the island. Taiwan has invested heavily in security infrastructure, defensive technology, and munitions in preparation for that day, which everybody hopes will never come.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump, seeking to avoid the U.S. being dragged into such a conflict with a near-peer adversary, said after <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4570118\/trump-leaves-china-without-taiwan-arms-sale\/\">meeting with Xi in Beijing<\/a> last month that he is \u201cnot looking to have somebody go independent,\u201d in reference to Taiwan. He said both sides needed to \u201ccool down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s just what Cheng aims to do. She accepted her own <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4509216\/taiwan-opposition-leader-meet-xi-jinping-trump-summit\/\">invitation to meet with Xi<\/a> in April during a multiday trip to the mainland. That goodwill summit was the first of its kind in over a decade, and it was deeply divisive for the Taiwanese public.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Taiwan\u2019s opposition Kuomintang party leader Cheng Li-wun leaves after a press conference held in Beijing, Friday, April 10, 2026. (Ng Han Guan\/AP Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/how-do-taiwanese-feel-about-the-cheng-xi-meeting\/\">study from the Brookings Institution<\/a>, 46.6% of Taiwanese voters said they had a \u201cnegative\u201d to \u201cvery negative\u201d feeling about Cheng meeting Xi. Approximately 34.6% said they had a \u201cpositive\u201d to \u201cvery positive\u201d feeling about it, and 18.8% said they weren\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If critics were put off by the optics of Cheng chumming it up with the communist who would like to capture their island, they certainly would not appreciate the KMT leader\u2019s assessment of Xi\u2019s character.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe\u2019s been very gentle and very nice and very real during the meeting with me,\u201d she told the American reporters on Friday. \u201cHe really wants to deal with cross-strait relations with peaceful means and avoid war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor him, it\u2019s crucially important that we accept \u2014 we recognize \u2014 we belong to the same, great Chinese family in a cultural-historical way,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4588477\/hegseth-soft-tone-china-quiet-taiwan-singapore-summit\/\">HEGSETH STRIKES SOFTER TONE ON CHINA AND STAYS QUIET ON TAIWAN AT SINGAPORE SUMMIT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taiwanese politics has always been defined by the question of how the island relates to the mainland. Cheng is not offering anything new on the topic. She\u2019s actually suggesting something old \u2014 the almost quaint idea that both sides of the strait can go back to coexisting peacefully under a convenient mythology of reuniting one day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beijing says there\u2019s only one China. The KMT agrees. It would just like a very, very long time frame for actually deciding how they\u2019ll make it work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taiwan\u2019s conservative opposition leader has a very unusual problem. She needs to get close to the communist dictator threatening to conquer her country \u2014 but not so close that the voting public starts thinking they\u2019re actually friends. Kuomintang Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun sat down with American reporters on Friday at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2613866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26163596438006.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2613865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26163596438006.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2613865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2613866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2613865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2613865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2613865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}