Taiwan opposition leader says Xi meeting avoided 'reunification' talk

A television shows the meeting between Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, at a restaurant in Taipei on April 10, 2026. I-HWA CHENG/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

WASHINGTON D.C. – Cheng Li-wun, the leader of Taiwan's largest opposition party, said that during her recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the issue of "reunification" was never discussed.

"Due to the rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait, we really hoped that we'd be able to restart cross-strait dialogue and negotiation, and to create peace," Cheng told NPR in an interview. "At the moment, we do not have the conditions to talk about this [reunification] issue."

Cheng is on a 15-day trip to the United States, where the leader of the Kuomintang (KMT) hopes to convince the American public of her approach seeking greater engagement with Beijing. She said that the devastation of the Chinese civil war of the 20th century, fought between her party and the Chinese Communists, was one of the reasons for her to seek "peaceful coexistence" with China.

"If war happens across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan is going to face serious devastation. Then countries like the United States will inevitably get involved. And this may lead to the breaking out of World War III and the whole world will suffer," Cheng told Here and Now host, Scott Tong.

Cheng represents Taiwan's opposition at a time when Taiwanese voters are increasingly polarized over how to manage relations with China, and whether they can trust Washington. Her party faced fierce criticism from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after using its legislative majority in May to pass a scaled-back defense spending bill. The final package fell far short of what President Lai Ching-te insisted was necessary to prepare the self-governing island for a potential Chinese attack.

Cheng spoke with Tong about her disagreements with Taiwan's ruling party on defense spending, and how she hopes to take relations with China in a more hopeful direction despite rising tensions across the Taiwan strait.

The following exchange has been edited for length and clarity.