KMT's Cheng to visit U.S. June 1, with stops in New York, D.C., Boston: Source

Taipei, May 24 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) will depart Taipei for the United States on June 1 for a two-week trip to promote "normalization of cross-strait peace," a source familiar with the arrangements told CNA on Sunday.

Cheng and her delegation - expected to include KMT International Affairs Department chief Tung Chia-yu (董佳瑜) and Wennie Wu (吳亮儀), head of the party's Overseas Department - will begin their U.S. visit on the West Coast, according to the unnamed source, though the source did not specify which cities they would visit.

Cheng will then travel to the East Coast, with stops in New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston, where she is expected to meet with U.S. politicians and think tank representatives before returning to the West Coast to meet overseas Taiwanese communities, the source added.

The itinerary is being drafted by the KMT's representative to the U.S., Victor Chin (秦日新), in coordination with Tung's department.

Cheng's first visit to the U.S. as KMT chair is expected to focus on "normalizing peace across the Taiwan Strait" and exploring a "sustainable solution for cross-strait peace," the source said.

Details of Cheng's upcoming trip emerged days after the top U.S. representative to Taiwan, Raymond Greene, told CNA that many American politicians and scholars were looking forward to meeting her in person to determine whether the KMT is "fundamentally changing the party's political orientation."

Most Americans "associate the KMT with Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and the fight against communism," while many foreign policy experts view the modern KMT as a "centrist party" that seeks to balance strong defense ties and cooperation with the U.S. while engaging with Beijing "to preserve the status quo," Greene said in the interview last Thursday.

In recent months, however, international media reports have created the impression that the KMT "has started to adopt or emulate CCP positions on key diplomatic and security issues" without sufficiently considering the interests of the U.S. or Japan, Greene said.

"This visit should offer an opportunity to address those concerns, as well as clarify the KMT's stance on pending issues such as investments in Taiwan's defense industrial base," he added.

In response, Yin Nai-ching (尹乃菁), director of the KMT's Culture and Communications Committee, said Friday that the KMT has always upheld the Constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name, and opposed Taiwan independence.

She added that the party's long-standing approach aligns with U.S. interests in maintaining stability across the Taiwan Strait.