Taiwan’s Leader Returns With Beijing Gift

Cheng Li-wun, Taiwan’s opposition leader, has returned from a rare weeklong visit to China, bringing back what she described as a “gift” in the form of 10 new cross-strait measures from Beijing. “We have taken a successful first step, but there are still 99 more steps to go,” Cheng told reporters at the airport on Sunday, announcing that she had instructed her KMT Vice Chairman Chang Jung-kung to form a working group to coordinate implementation with Beijing. However, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) dismissed the Chinese measures, with the presidential spokesperson stating that cross-strait exchanges “should not become bargaining chips for a specific party’s political maneuvering or transactions.” If China genuinely intends to advance these measures, it “should negotiate with our government’s competent authorities through existing communication channels.”