Taiwan opposition chief departs for China 'peace' mission

Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun left for China on Tuesday (April 7) for a "journey of peace" and a potential meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Cheng, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan's largest opposition party, is travelling at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, and as the opposition-dominated parliament stalls a government plan for $40 billion in extra defence spending.

Cheng is going to China a month before U.S. President Donald Trump's scheduled summit with Xi in Beijing. This is the first trip by a KMT leader to China in a decade, though China has yet to confirm whether Xi will definitely meet Cheng, who will be in Beijing from Thursday (April 9).

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, refuses to speak to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a "separatist".

-Fabian Hamacher/Reuters