KMT Chair China Visit Sparks Unease Within Her Own Party — Cheng Departs Tomorrow (Apr 7) for Shanghai

Taiwan News reported on April 6, 2026 that KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun's April 7-12 China visit — the first by a sitting KMT chair in a decade — is sparking unease within her own party, not just among DPP opponents. Ahead of her departure tomorrow for Shanghai, internal KMT divisions have emerged between members who view the visit as a legitimate peace initiative and those who fear it will be exploited by Beijing to generate diplomatic leverage. Key concerns cited by Taiwan News: (1) KMT rank-and-file worry the visit creates a perception that the party is acting as Beijing's diplomatic intermediary rather than Taiwan's loyal opposition; (2) The confirmed Xi Jinping meeting in Beijing risks elevating Beijing's unification narrative at a moment when Taiwan's defense budget remains unresolved; (3) The Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum visit (April 8, Nanjing) — chosen by Beijing as the first major stop — is designed to position KMT within a Chinese national heritage frame that is incompatible with Taiwan's democratic identity. Taiwan's DPP government has maintained that the visit creates an 'illusion of unification momentum' for President Trump ahead of the May 14-15 Beijing summit. The Asia Cable's April 6 Asia Daily roundup noted the Cheng visit as the dominant cross-strait story of the week, with Taiwan's broader security architecture — the defense budget standoff, the Trump-Xi summit dynamics, and the KMT's legislative position — all directly shaped by what emerges from the April 7-12 mission.