Taiwan’s President Visits US, as Former President Makes Trip to China

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party visited the United States, while former President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang opposition party made a cross-strait journey to mainland China for an ancestor-worship trip.

Observers say that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) will debate fiercely over pro-U.S. and pro-China topics in the next 10 days as the parties ramp up toward Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election.

Tsai set off to visit Central American allies on March 29, stopping in New York along the way. While passing through New York on March 30, she was awarded the Global Leadership Award from the Hudson Institute. She is scheduled to transit through Los Angeles on her return trip on April 5, when she is expected to meet with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

In Beijing, a spokesperson for China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Taiwan Affairs Office, Zhu Fenglian, shortly before Tsai’s departure threatened retaliation in response to any meeting with the U.S. lawmaker.

Former President Ma left for mainland China on March 27 to visit the Nanjing Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Sun is the founding father of the Republic of China (1911–present). On March 28, Ma left flowers at a bronze statue of Sun, who died in 1925.

During Ma’s visit, he made mention of Taiwan by its official name, the Republic of China, on April 1 during a speech in Hunan province’s Xiangtan city.

In 1992, the then-ruling KMT of Taiwan signed an agreement with the CCP in which both parties agreed that there’s only one China. However, the agreement was ambiguous, as it didn’t define “China.” Some people in Taiwan reject that 1992 consensus.

Eyes on 2024

Taiwan will hold its presidential election on Jan. 13, 2024. The current chairman of the ruling DPP and the nation’s current vice president, Lai Ching-te, has registered and will represent the DPP to run for president. The KMT hasn’t announced its presidential candidate yet.

“This time, it feels like a competition, as Tsai is visiting the United States while Ma is visiting mainland China,” said Wu Chonghan, an associate professor at the Department of Foreign Affairs of National Chengchi University in Taiwan.