Taiwan Opposition Leader Meets China's Xi in Beijing | China in Focus

Welcome to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story, China's Xi telling Taiwan's opposition leader the island is part of communist China during their first meeting in a decade. Taiwan's government is warning about the regime's true intentions. The Chinese communists are deliberately creating the false impression that Taiwan is an internal affair of China in order to confuse international opinion. U.S. lawmakers pushing for a massive defense boost for Taiwan. It's vital for the island to defend itself in the event of a Chinese invasion. The main hurdle is Taiwan's opposition party, whose leader is currently visiting China. What does Taiwan's opposition leader's visit to China signal to the West? Grant Newsham joins us to unpack what's at stake. And Japan downgrading China ties in its latest 2026 report. It comes after months of rising diplomatic tensions over Taiwan. Taiwanese opposition leader Chun Li-Wen met with Chinese regime leader Xi Jinping on Friday in Beijing. Her party, the Kuomintang, is known for its pro-Beijing stance. The two sides repeatedly referenced the one-China policy without clarifying whether it refers to communist China or Taiwan's Republic of China. Taiwan's incumbent government, a firm U.S. ally, is closely watching the developments. NTD's Flora Huang has the key points from the meeting. Leaders of China's Communist Party and Taiwan's opposition party, the Kuomintang, delivered a unanimous message. Both sides want peace, not conflict. But peace on whose terms? In Xi's view, Taiwan is part of China, a claim Taiwan's government rejects. Here's what Taiwan's opposition leader Chun Li-Wen said after the meeting. The only political foundation for cross-strait exchanges and dialogue is adherence to the 1992 Consensus and opposition to Taiwan independence. The 1992 Consensus is an implicit agreement that both Taiwan and China belong to one China without specifying which China. The Republic of China is the official name of Taiwan's government, and the Communist Party, which rules mainland China, officially known as the People's Republic of China, has never acknowledged that. China's Xi has not ruled out annexing Taiwan by force and has directed multiple live-fire drills around the island in recent years. Another key point from the meeting, the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwan Strait will no longer be a focal point of potential conflict, nor will it become a chess piece played by outside world. Chun's stance echoes Beijing's, which labels the waterway an internal issue. Beijing regularly sends warships and fighter jets across the median line of the strait, threatening the Taiwanese government. The U.S. and its allies consider it international waters and send ships through the strait to uphold freedom of navigation. The waterway is among the world's busiest shipping routes and serves as an energy lifeline to U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea. More from the meeting, Chun also said Xi respects the differences in social systems and ways of life between China and Taiwan. This echoes Beijing's approach to Hong Kong, known as one country, two systems. But today's Hong Kong is no longer free. Critics of the communist regime have been jailed. Taiwan's top China policy official made this statement after the Xi-Cheng meeting. The Chinese communists are deliberately creating the false impression that Taiwan is an internal affair of China in order to confuse international opinion. Chairman Chen echoed the CCP's narrative and praised the CCP's governance achievements. This not only runs counter to Taiwan's mainstream public opinion, but also stands in stark contrast to the international community's concern for peace in the Taiwan Strait and its opposition to CCP coercion. A U.S. Senate delegation recently visited Taiwan, supporting the island's proposed $40 billion defense budget, the largest in its history. Chun opposed that defense bill. Flora Hua, NTD News. Tensions rising across the Taiwan Strait, U.S. lawmakers are now pressing Taiwan's parliament to approve a major defense spending package, as China ramps up military pressure and Taiwan's opposition leader visits Beijing. NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has the story. There's growing concern in Washington that delays in Taiwan's defense spending could make the island more vulnerable to an attack from the Chinese Communist Party. Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, which Taiwan's president Lai is a part of, is working to pass its largest ever defense budget of $40 billion. But the opposition party, the Kuomintang, or KMT, which is widely seen as more Beijing-friendly, doesn't even show up to the defense budget meeting, so it couldn't pass. A few months ago, the Trump administration passed a record $11 billion weapons sale to Taiwan. But that really can't pass unless the KMT, which controls Taiwan's parliament, agrees to it. Meanwhile, China continues near-daily military drills around the island, sending military jets and ships. But U.S. officials say that these aren't just exercises, but rehearsals for an invasion. Senator Jim Banks just met with President Lai in Taiwan, calling on parliament to pass that budget to send a message to Beijing. Your legislative yuan has to do its part and pass the special budget. And that's one message that I want to send to your leadership. When you pass the special budget in the legislature, that is a signal to China and to the rest of the world that Taiwan is serious about peace through strength. Senator Banks is just one of several bipartisan U.S. lawmakers visiting Taiwan over the past couple weeks. All of them warning that delays in defense spending could undermine their ability to deter China. I'd like to personally endorse the special defense budget and tell you back in Washington, D.C. that my colleagues are watching. We are concerned by the increased pressure from Beijing, including military activity around Taiwan that raises the risk of miscalculation. Now while the KMT is skipping parliament meetings and blocking that defense package, the head of their party is in China meeting with CCP officials. Critics say that the timing of the opposition leader's trip and the stalled defense funding is meant to weaken Taiwan's position. U.S. officials warn that the window for Taiwan to strengthen deterrence against China may be closing, especially as China continues to escalate military activity around the island. For NTD News Washington, I'm Jack Bradley. Billions in defense, warships on the horizon and freedom on the line. What's at stake as Taiwan's opposition leader visits China and what does it mean for the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting? Retired Marine Colonel Grant Newsham joins us to unpack what's next. He's also the author of When China Attacks and senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy. Grant Newsham, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Well, glad to be here. Now delving straight into Taiwan's opposition leader's visit to Beijing, it was a message of peace, essentially. But at the same time, there's been almost a record number of warships and planes from China around Taiwan. How are you reading this trip and the message of it? Well, it's all performative from the Chinese Communist Party's perspective. They're just bringing her in, the head of the KMT, to have a meeting, to have with Xi Jinping. And the idea is to influence Taiwan, its domestic politics, also to influence the Americans. But at the same time, they're making very clear with the military moves around Taiwan that really haven't stopped for 20 years, but they've just gotten worse in the last four or five years. And they're making it very clear that, you know, we'll talk and we will act nice. But at the end of the day, if we have to, we're going to hurt you, to take your country, to take Taiwan back. Very quickly on the military aspect, you know, many are saying China has surged nearly 100 naval and Coast Guard vessels across the East and South China Seas this week. That's well above the usual, if you will, 50 to 60 that you see. Is this the new normal, if you will, of the latest escalation? Oh, it's like the frog getting boiled, and the Chinese gradually increase the things that they do to demonstrate in very concrete terms that they have control over the South China Sea. And their objectives, of course, are well beyond the South China Sea, but they've been locking it down for the last decade, and it's bit by bit, step by step. They do what is necessary to demonstrate that, that they're the big dog, and yes, the Americans can come through once in a while, but as soon as they're gone, it closes up, and it's the Chinese who have control over it. So it's very much the Chinese approach to things, which is step by step, almost by osmosis, absorb or take over your intended victim. And speaking of the Americans, there was just a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Taiwan speaking about that stalled $40 billion increase in defense, where Washington is watching because the U.S., of course, sells a lot of arms to Taiwan. How do you see or maybe what is the message this whole thing is sending to Washington? Well, there's a point at which the Americans just might have had enough. They just get tired of this internal bickering in Taiwan. It's thinking, can't you all get together and do what's necessary to defend yourself? The actual reality, of course, is that Taiwanese politics, like politics anywhere, are complicated, and a little bit of patience and stepping back for a while and soft pressure can be helpful. But the Americans have been trying for at least in the last few years, harder than they ever have, to provide concrete support for Taiwan's defense. So now when Taiwan's fighting about this, and they are not passing the necessary sort of budget, the Americans are not exasperated yet, but they're saying what's taking so long? And there's a point at which they just might say, you know, this is this is enough. I don't think we're there yet. But it is getting irksome. And that's about where we are now. And this visit by the opposition leader comes, of course, before that expected meeting between President Trump and Xi Jinping in mid-May. What do you think Trump or Xi Jinping wants to hear from President Trump in regards to Taiwan if that meeting does happen? Well, I think they would like President Trump to come looking for a trade deal, some sort of a deal. And that would be ideal from China's perspective. And the idea is that China will make some concessions, at least what look like concessions, cut a deal with the Americans. And implicit in that is the idea that America won't do quite as much to help Taiwan. It won't speak up on Taiwan's behalf. It's not going to make a big priority getting Taiwan the weapons it deserves. And it might even back off a bit on criticizing and standing up to what the Chinese are doing towards Taiwan militarily, the constant defense and military maneuvers around the country. They might also like to see the Americans actually not do as much as they are to support the Japanese and particularly not speaking up on behalf of the Japanese, just staying mute. That is actually a victory from the Chinese perspective, works to their advantage, because it looks like the Americans aren't that interested. The Americans may think they are and probably are. But from the Japanese perspective, they're wondering, well, look, the Chinese have said they want to cut off the, you know, cut off Prime Minister Takeuchi's head. The Americans haven't really said anything about that. So China's looking for an America, the president comes hoping for a deal of some sort. When it comes to leverage, if you will, China is mostly an export driven economy, if you will. It also relies quite heavily on the Strait of Hormuz, specifically for oil from the Middle East. Do you see that perhaps helping the president in terms of cards, as he likes to say, or leverage? Because, of course, the main focus has been on rare earth and China's leverage. Well, I think it does. The Chinese do depend on energy from the Middle East, from overseas. And now the Americans have really taken cheap or almost free Venezuelan oil off the market. You might get something similar with Iranian oil. And while China is probably not as dependent as some people think it is on overseas oil and LNG, at the same time, it does need it. And now the Americans have a card to play. Before that, they didn't. And it was the Chinese who had the critical minerals, the rare earth minerals that they were using to really threaten to choke off the American economy. Now the Americans have something that they can play against the Chinese. And also keep in mind that the Gulf Arab states, Dubai, excuse me, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, they have been all in on this fight against Iran. And they're not very happy that China has built up the Iranian military, built its defenses, bought all of its oil that the Iranians have used to build up their defenses and stay in power. And they still are sending things, military supplies, such as the fuel that you put into ballistic missiles. And the Gulf Arabs are not happy about this. And they control an awful lot of energy as well. And if they're aligned with the Americans, you can see how the U.S. has a considerable influence over a big chunk of oil that the Chinese would like to have access to. Definitely a lot of moving pieces and a lot at stake. Grant Nishimizawa, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. The work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz continues. Iran is still holding the critical waterway hostage. President Trump sending a warning to the regime while working on a solution with foreign leaders. NTD's international correspondent, Arian Pozdar, has the latest on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Strait of Hormuz on Friday, still seeing minimal traffic. Tracking data from marine traffic shows that almost no ships are passing through. Most vessels sailing through the Strait are linked to Iran. Also on Friday, an Israeli intelligence official telling Fox News that Iran is charging a fee for ships to pass, saying the Strait is effectively under full Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps control. They decide who gets to go through, but more importantly, who doesn't. This corresponds with a statement from President Trump made a day earlier, saying there are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait. They better not be. And if they are, they better stop now. Military and diplomatic strength. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying he spoke with President Trump on Thursday night about reopening the passage. Here's what they discussed. We've been pulling together a coalition of countries, now over 30 countries, working on a political and diplomatic plan, but also looking at military capabilities and actually the logistics of actually moving vessels through the Strait. So that was the focus of the discussion last night. Prime Minister Starmer completing a trip to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Where they discussed reopening Hormuz and the current ceasefire, Starmer says him and the Gulf nations agreed on several points. Strait of Hormuz has to be part of the solution, a very strong sense that can't be tolling or restrictions on that navigation. Britain's foreign secretary agrees, saying the Strait of Hormuz must be fully reopened without restrictions or tolls. The blocking of this milder waterway is hitting trade around the world. Aryan Pasdar, NTD News. Turning now to another war in Europe. Russia is announcing a temporary ceasefire in its war with Ukraine, set to coincide with the Orthodox Easter holiday. The Kremlin says it expects Ukraine to follow suit, calling for a pause in fighting through the weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country will respond in kind, but remains cautious. Previous ceasefires have been tainted by accusations of violations. Ukraine says Russia committed hundreds of violations on the first day of the previous truce. Even as the pause is announced, fighting has continued. A Russian drone strike struck port and energy infrastructure in Odessa overnight. Coming up, a Chinese researcher's death at the University of Michigan is under investigation. He was found dead on campus last month as officials continue to look into the situation. Japan downgrading China ties in its latest 2026 report. It comes after months of rising diplomatic tensions over Taiwan. And a high-ranking Chinese official has met with North Korea's Kim Jong-un. What was discussed and what promises were made? More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Speculations rising over the death of a Chinese national on American soil. Then how Wong, a research assistant in electrical and computer engineering, died in an incident at University of Michigan last month. Police responded on March 19th to reports of a person who had fallen inside the George G. Brown building. Wong was found after falling from an upper level and was later pronounced dead. Authorities Wednesday say they are investigating the death as a possible act of self-harm and says there's no indication of any ongoing threat to campus. Chinese officials are raising questions about the death of a University of Michigan researcher. They say he may have been questioned by U.S. law enforcement shortly before he died. However, U.S. officials have not confirmed any prior questioning and said they do not comment on investigative activity involving specific individuals. University officials say the investigation remains ongoing and no further details are being released at this time. Japan is slightly downgrading how it describes its relationship with China. It comes as tensions between the two countries continue to rise over Taiwan. The shift comes in Tokyo's latest annual foreign policy report on Friday. In its 2026 diplomatic blue book, Japan now calls China an important neighbor. It's a step down from last year when it described the relationship as one of its most important. Relations have been strained in recent months. That's after Prime Minister Sanai Takaichi suggested Japan could get involved militarily if China invades Taiwan. Following the remark, China, which claims Taiwan as its own, responded sharply. It warned its citizens about traveling to Japan, imposing trade restrictions and accusing Tokyo of reviving militarism. A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry blamed Japan for damaging the relationship over its remarks on Taiwan. Tensions rose further last month when a member of Japan's self-defense forces was arrested for entering the Chinese embassy grounds in Tokyo. Despite ongoing tensions, Japan says it will continue working to stabilize and improve ties with China. China and North Korea should work more closely together wherever it is needed. That's the message China's foreign minister delivered to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Friday. Wang Yi was on a two-day visit in Pyongyang. On Thursday, he held talks with his North Korean counterpart. During the talks, Wang said North Korea had more remarkable progresses, despite what he called conspiracies by the U.S. and Western forces to oppress it. That's according to North Korea's state media. It said the two agreed it was their government's unwavering position to further develop the relationship despite turmoil in the global environment. Beijing and Pyongyang have been trying to revive their political and economic ties. Relations between the two countries had cooled, in part due to North Korea's push to forge strategic ties with Russia. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to host President Trump next month. Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in resuming talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocus and td.com. We'd love to hear from you. For on the clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you soon.