Assalamualaikum - New opposition leader in Taiwan warns of China conflict risk, promises peace push
Assalamualaikum - Taiwan’s newly chosen opposition leader took office on Saturday and warned about the real danger of war with China while pledging to try to open a new chapter of peace with Beijing. Former lawmaker Cheng Li-wun has become head of the island’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), at a time when military and political tensions with China are high, since Beijing considers the democratically governed island its territory.
She told party members at a Taipei indoor high school stadium, “This is the worst of times. The Taiwan Strait faces grave military danger and the world is watching closely,” adding that Taiwan’s security is under constant threat of war. The KMT has historically favored closer ties with Beijing, and Cheng, 55, has already hinted she may move closer to China than her predecessor Eric Chu, who did not visit China while leading the party from 2021.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping quickly sent congratulations after her election and urged steps toward “reunification.” Some online Chinese users have given Cheng flattering nicknames; she said people call her many things online and that if some names are wrong, it’s best to just laugh them off. KMT’s new deputy chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen visited China this week and met Song Tao, head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.
In her first speech as party head, Cheng didn’t lay out detailed China policies or say whether she would visit the mainland, focusing instead on working for peace. “The KMT will definitely be the party that opens a new era of cross-Strait peace and leads Taiwan forward,” she said. Cheng also opposes higher defense spending, a key policy of President Lai Ching-te’s government that has strong backing from the United States.
Although the KMT lost the presidential vote last year, the party and its ally, the smaller Taiwan People’s Party, together hold the most seats in parliament, which complicates the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s efforts to pass the budget and other bills. One of Cheng’s immediate tasks will be to prepare for mayoral and local elections late next year - mostly domestic contests that will also act as a barometer of public support ahead of the 2028 presidential race.
May Allah grant wisdom and safety to all involved.
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