Xi-Cheng meeting tied to efforts to block Taiwan arms bill: MAC

Taipei, April 2 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday that one of Chinese President Xi Jinping's (習近平) objectives in meeting Kuomintang (KMT) Chairperson Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) next week is to "cut off Taiwan's military procurement from the United States."

"Trying to cut off Taiwan's military procurement from the U.S., as well as Taiwan's cooperation with other countries, is the objective of this so-called summons," MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) claimed at a regular news briefing in Taipei.

He also said Xi seeks to "internalize" cross-Taiwan Strait issues during the planned meeting, which is expected to take place in Beijing during Cheng's scheduled April 7-12 visit to China.

News of Cheng's trip to China next week emerged on Monday, when the KMT chair said at a press conference that she had "gladly accepted" an invitation from Xi -- identified in the invitation as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) -- to visit Jiangsu, Shanghai and Beijing.

Cheng said at the time that the trip will "show the people of Taiwan and the world one thing -- the two sides of the strait are not destined for war, nor do they need to remain on the brink of military conflict."

During Thursday's briefing, Liang said the Chinese authorities had made "clear" their intention to "obstruct this arms sales bill," likely referring to a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.06 billion) bill put forth by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.

The KMT and the smaller Taiwan People's Party, which together hold a majority in the Legislature, have also tabled their own version of the bill on a much smaller scale, and all three versions are currently under review in Taiwan's Legislature.

"At a time like this, if the CCP can tell the world that the chair of Taiwan's largest opposition party, which represents half of public opinion in Taiwan, also agrees with its position, that would pose the greatest obstacle to this arms procurement bill," he said.

Cheng's remarks

Earlier Thursday, Cheng said at an event that Xi had formally extended goodwill and sincerity through the invitation, "which is exactly what cross-strait relations need most right now."

She added that such goodwill was also why visiting U.S. senators had publicly welcomed the planned meeting, referring to Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who commented on the matter by saying that dialogue "is a good thing" during a press event in Taipei in late March.

Shaheen, who visited Taiwan with a Congressional delegation, also urged China to engage in dialogue with leaders across Taiwan's political spectrum.

Cheng also told reporters that she would be willing to meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and send an important political message of reconciliation between the ruling and opposition parties.

She said that if both Taiwan and Beijing could jointly extend major goodwill, there was no reason the KMT and the DPP could not do the same.

Meanwhile, Cheng said she hoped to complete important overseas visits in the first half of the year, including a trip to the U.S., which she said would take place no later than June.