Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) led a party delegation to Beijing this week for a “KMT–CCP Think Tank Forum,” underscoring the opposition party's bid to keep communication channels with China open even as cross-Strait tensions remain high.
On Wednesday, Hsiao and KMT think tank Vice Chairman Lee Hung-yuan met Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧) at the Xinjiang Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Wang, a long-time party theorist who has advised three top Chinese leaders, framed the gathering as a chance to deepen cooperation on the political basis of upholding the “1992 Consensus” and opposing Taiwan independence.
Wang Huning: Cross-Strait People Are All Chinese
In his remarks, Wang said General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) sent a congratulatory message on October 19, 2025, to Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) after she was elected KMT chair, praising the “positive results” achieved by the two parties on the shared political foundation of the “1992 Consensus” and opposition to Taiwan independence. He noted that Cheng replied with thanks and expressed a positive outlook on future party-to-party and cross-Strait relations.
Wang described the KMT–CCP Think Tank Forum as a concrete step to implement the spirit of those congratulatory messages and respond to what he called the common aspiration of people on both sides of the Strait “for peace, development, exchanges and cooperation.” He said the event demonstrates both parties' “sense of mission” to seek benefits for people on both sides and to inject “positive energy” into cross-Strait relations and the security situation in the Taiwan Strait.
Emphasizing a shared identity, Wang said that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese and belong to the same Chinese nation. He quoted Xi as saying that cross-Strait compatriots “share common blood, common culture and common history,” and, more importantly, “a common responsibility for our nation and common expectations for the future.”
Under what he called “new circumstances,” Wang said Beijing is willing to strengthen exchanges and interactions with political parties, groups and people from all walks of life in Taiwan, including the KMT, on the basis of the “1992 Consensus” and opposition to Taiwan independence. The goal, he said, is to unite a broad range of Taiwan compatriots, promote exchanges and cooperation, deepen cross-Strait integration, and “seek peace for both sides, welfare for compatriots and national rejuvenation.”
Hsiao Reiterates KMT's ‘1992 Consensus' Line
In his remarks, Hsiao said that in 1992, representatives from both sides of the Strait reached an understanding through “oral expressions by each side” that they both adhere to the “one China” principle—an understanding widely known in Taiwan as the “1992 Consensus.” Within the KMT's formulation, this has often been interpreted as “one China, different interpretations,” although Beijing has never accepted that framing.
Hsiao argued that upholding the “1992 Consensus” and opposing Taiwan independence remains the common political foundation for continuing cross-Strait exchanges. He added that people on both sides share common blood ties, culture, history and emotions, and said that “de-sinicization” efforts in Taiwan have never succeeded because, in his words, Chinese consciousness is “our soul,” Chinese culture is “our body,” and the Chinese nation is “our root.”
He noted that this year's KMT–CCP Think Tank Forum focused on issues he said many people in Taiwan care about, ranging from tourism, travel and elder medical care to disaster prevention, energy policy and the future development of artificial intelligence. Hsiao praised what he described as mainland China's “tremendous breakthroughs” in many technologies in recent years, arguing that there is much Taiwan can learn from and that the forum should be seen only as a starting point for deeper cooperation to “create shared prosperity” and “benefit compatriots on both sides.”
While acknowledging that the two sides of the Strait have adopted different political systems, lifestyles and values, Hsiao stressed that, in his view, “everyone is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor” and part of the same Chinese nation, with intertwined blood ties and shared emotions. He said no one wants to see armed conflict across the Strait, and claimed that a growing majority in Taiwan are coming to realize that the ruling camp's “resist China to protect Taiwan” slogan in practice amounts to “flattering America to sell out Taiwan,” a phrase he used to argue that such an approach does not serve Taiwan's interests.
According to Hsiao, most people in Taiwan “absolutely do not want” cross-Strait relations to move toward confrontation.
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