Cheng Li-wen: KMT to act as a bridge-builder, seeking a new path to peace across the strait

(Central News Agency, Reporter Liu Guanting, Taipei, 7th) Kuomintang (KMT) Chairperson Cheng Li-wen attended a welcoming banquet hosted by the Boston overseas Chinese community on the 6th of this month (Taipei time). In her speech, she said that the KMT upholds the Constitution of the Republic of China and bears the historical mission of creating peace and prosperity. Amidst the turbulent international geopolitical landscape, the KMT will play the role of a "bridge-builder" to find a new path to peace for the welfare of the Taiwan Strait and the region.

The KMT issued a press release today stating that Cheng Li-wen attended the welcoming banquet hosted by the Boston overseas Chinese community on the 6th of this month (Taipei time). Over 300 overseas Chinese in Boston waved national flags to welcome the delegation led by Cheng Li-wen. In her speech, Cheng said she was extremely excited and moved to see the hall filled with waving flags and enthusiastic overseas compatriots.

Cheng noted that Boston has deep roots in American founding history. As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence, she visited the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. In the old Governor's office, she saw a portrait of Samuel Adams, one of the founding fathers of the United States, and was deeply touched. She stated that two great historical revolutions, in China and the United States, established the world-renowned democratic republics of the "Republic of China and the United States" in the East and West respectively, and the values of freedom, democracy, and shared prosperity are the common language of the two countries.

The KMT stated that the banquet invited three veteran heroes who fought in the War of Resistance against Japan: 96-year-old Li Xian, Liu Cheng, and 94-year-old Jin Anshu. Cheng emphasized that during the KMT's tenure in government, it created the economic miracle of the Four Asian Tigers, achieved the miracle of a peaceful transition to a democratic political system, and laid the foundation for the world-leading semiconductor industry, the "national protective mountain," through forward-looking planning. She asserted that all these glorious achievements are based on the Constitution of the Republic of China.

Cheng believes that facing the current dangerous military situation across the strait and global anxiety over a potential military conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the KMT will never, and cannot, sit idly by and allow the next generation to become cannon fodder in war. The KMT wants to prove to the world and all overseas compatriots that besides confrontation, there is absolutely another choice for both sides of the strait: to jointly create peace and generate enormous benefits.

Cheng also shared the results of her visits to top global academic institutions such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She said that peace is a common expectation of many international scholars, which further convinced her that the responsibility of political figures should be to build bridges, not deepen divisions. Only by allowing the world's best talents to freely exchange and cooperate can we create more opportunities for the younger generation and forge a better future for human society.

Furthermore, the KMT issued a press release stating that during a luncheon meeting on the 4th of this month (Taipei time) between Cheng Li-wen and Lyle Goldstein, Director of Asia Affairs at the U.S. think tank "Defense Priorities," both agreed that actively reducing geopolitical conflict risks and doing everything possible to avoid military war are the primary tasks for maintaining peace between the two sides of the strait and the international community.

The KMT pointed out that Cheng emphasized that in dealing with cross-strait relations, rational dialogue based on opposition to Taiwan independence is necessary to reduce tensions, which aligns with the common strategic interests of the United States, Mainland China, and Taiwan. Goldstein stated that the cost of war is extremely high and destructive, and all parties should promote rational dialogue and jointly promote substantive peace in the region. (Editor: Su Zhizong, Zhang Liangzhi) 1150607