KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun Not Meeting Xi on March 12, Party Confirms

The rumored summit between KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) and CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) will not take place on March 12, Storm Media has confirmed. Cheng is instead scheduled to host a Sun Yat-sen memorial ceremony in Taipei that day.

The clarification comes after online media reports claimed the two leaders would formally hold the long-anticipated "Cheng-Xi meeting" on that date — which happens to mark the101st anniversary of the death of revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen (孫中山), raising the prospect of both sides of the Taiwan Strait commemorating him simultaneously. KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) told Storm Media the March 12 reports are not factual, and that Cheng will instead preside over the memorial ceremony at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.

Beijing also faces a crowded political calendar in the first half of this year — the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference "Two Sessions" are scheduled for March 5 and 4 respectively, followed by the high-profile visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to China. The Cheng-Xi meeting may consequently be postponed until summer.

Rumors of a "Cheng-Xi meeting" have circulated in Taiwan for some time, though without a definitive timeline. According to Storm Media's understanding, the meeting is confirmed to take place eventually: Beijing has already agreed to the arrangement, and both the KMT and CCP have restarted bilateral think tank forums to lay the groundwork. Two questions remain — timing, and the agenda.

Sources say both parties believe the meeting cannot be held merely for the sake of a leadership encounter, as such an approach would carry little political weight. Both sides are currently working to identify appropriate timing and discussion topics that would underscore the significance of a KMT-CCP leadership summit and its stabilizing effect on cross-strait relations.

Given Beijing's substantial first-half agenda, a near-term Cheng-Xi meeting is considered unlikely. Both sides nonetheless maintain the goal of convening within the first half of the year, with summer as the latest possible window.

Following a Beijing visit, Cheng is expected to travel to the United States as quickly as possible, signaling balance between Beijing and Washington. According to sources, the U.S. has already actively extended an invitation.

（Related： US Scholar Argues Maduro's Capture Will Not Influence Beijing's Policy Towards Taiwan ｜ Latest ）