Chinese Delegation Visits Taiwan

Facts

• Amid the waning COVID pandemic and soaring military tensions across the Taiwan Strait, a group of six Chinese officials visited Taiwan this weekend to attend a cultural event, the first such visit in three years.¹
• Led by the deputy head of Shanghai's Taiwan Affairs Office Li Xiaodong, they arrived in Taipei on Saturday during the Lantern Festival to hold talks with local government officials. The delegation was invited by mayor Chiang Wan-an of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party.²
• Beijing's exchanges with Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party were suspended after Tsai Ing-wen became president in 2016, though today's visit suggests diplomacy has resumed despite rising tensions.³
• Pro-Taiwan independence protesters campaigned outside the airport, shouting 'Taiwan and China, separate countries' and 'Chinese people, get out,' while another small group of pro-China supporters welcomed the group.⁴
• Officials from Shanghai said they felt a warm reception during the visit, where they discussed cultural, sports, and tourism issues with their counterparts, according to a statement from the city government.⁵
• China suspended a host of Taiwanese food and drink shipments in December amid a ban on fruit and fish imports imposed after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. The following month, KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia took a nine-day trip to China, calling for more direct flights and lifting of import restrictions.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Guardian, ³South china morning post, ⁴Nikkei asia, ⁵France 24 and ⁶Zawya.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by China stance – the diplomat. The Chinese delegation's visit to Taiwan has prompted domestic tensions around the relationship with the People's Republic of China. Though the party itself is quite ideologically diverse, KMT's leadership is colluding with the enemy, an aggressive state that threatens the island's independence by military force. The KMT's relationship with Beijing is dangerous.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Zawya. The KMT party rightly  welcomed Beijing's delegation with open arms, as it is important for both Chinese and Taiwanese authorities to work together as the mainland pursues a peaceful unification with its neighbor. The fact that Beijing has suspended import sanctions and KMT's Andrew Hsia called for loosening travel restrictions shows that, though its the opposition party, some Taiwanese officials are prepared to conduct civil diplomacy with the mainland.

Predictions