Taiwan’s Opposition Leader Takes Peace Pitch to America

By visiting the United States now, Cheng is attempting to complete a triangular diplomatic puzzle: she met Xi in Beijing in April, witnessed U.S. President Donald Trump meet Xi weeks later, and is now making her case directly in Washington . The visit is being “closely watched in Beijing, Taipei and Washington” as a politically sensitive effort to lower tensions on all sides .

Itinerary: A Two-Week Coast-to-Coast Pitch

Cheng’s delegation departed Taipei on June 1 and landed in San Francisco the same evening, the first stop on a four-city tour .

• San Francisco: Meetings with Taiwanese-American communities and think tanks, plus her initial public address .
• East Coast: Scheduled stops in New York, Washington D.C., and Boston for meetings with lawmakers, officials, and policy experts .
• Los Angeles: A final wrap-up visit with the overseas Taiwanese community before returning .

The Washington leg is considered the centerpiece, where the KMT delegation—which includes former Taiwan representative to the U.S. Jason Yuan—will attempt to convey that Taipei has a responsible role to play in preventing conflict .

The San Francisco Address: Key Messages

Speaking on June 2 in San Francisco, Cheng laid out several distinct proposals that frame the KMT’s current geopolitical stance .

Avoiding War Through Reconciliation
She argued that “what everyone fears—a confrontation between the United States and China—is something that can be avoided,” insisting that the U.S. and China should not be locked into rivalry . She directly challenged the idea that Taiwan must be a source of friction, stating her goal was to keep Washington out of an “avoidable war” .

Cross-Strait Peace Is Achievable
Cheng characterized hostility toward mainland China as a product of “political engineering” that doesn’t reflect the true sentiments of Taiwanese people . The KMT’s stated goal is the “normalization of cross-strait peace”—a posture Cheng says is more grounded in reality than the DPP’s approach .

A Three-Way Framework for Cooperation
In a significant rhetorical shift, Cheng said Taiwan need not pick a side between China and the United States. She expressed openness to a cooperative three-way framework where the island would not be forced “to side with one against the other” . She has previously described the United States as a “friend” while calling the mainland “family,” a framing that underscores the delicate balancing act at hand .

The ‘Buffer’ Strategy
By actively engaging both Beijing and Washington, Cheng is positioning the KMT as a unique “buffer” capable of communicating with both superpowers to de-escalate tensions .

A Potential Trump Meeting?

When asked in Taipei, Cheng did not shy away from the possibility of meeting the sitting U.S. president. “I am of course very willing,” she told reporters . No Taiwanese leader has met a sitting American president since diplomatic relations were severed in 1979, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment . Experts have noted such a meeting is unlikely, but the very willingness to seek it signals the KMT’s ambition to play a direct role in great-power diplomacy .

The Bigger Picture

The timing of Cheng’s visit amplifies its significance. Her April summit with Xi in Beijing occurred days before Trump himself visited the Chinese capital, where Xi stressed that Taiwan remains “the most important issue” in U.S.-China relations and warned that mishandling it could lead to “conflicts” . By visiting the U.S. now, Cheng is physically connecting the two sides of a tense triangle.

Her approach is not without risk. In Washington, officials will likely press her on Taiwan’s defense spending and what “peace” with Beijing would look like under the KMT’s vision. Some analysts predict she will make the case that Taipei should negotiate with the mainland over unification rather than maintain de facto sovereignty . Back in Taipei, the DPP has accused the KMT of undermining Taiwan’s autonomy by aligning too closely with Beijing’s talking points .

But for the moment, Cheng is betting that the appeal of a peaceful Taiwan Strait—an island that is not a battlefield but a bridge—is a message both superpowers can hear.