Cross-Strait dialogue is crucial for managing tensions, which have risen sharply over the past decade, and the KMT has long played an important role in maintaining these channels. But the timing and circumstances around this trip expose Cheng and the party she leads to political risks that will be difficult to navigate.Cheng’s visit follows a precedent of KMT leaders traveling to mainland China, beginning with Lien Chan’s groundbreaking 2005 meeting with then-Chinese leader Hu Jintao. Some subsequent KMT chairmen made similar trips.
Although Cheng’s immediate predecessor, Eric Chu Li-luan, refrained from visiting during his most recent term, which ran from 2021 until last November, he frequently dispatched Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia to the mainland.