China says it will resume some ties with Taiwan after visit by opposition leader

Lead

China has announced a package of 10 measures aimed at boosting ties with Taiwan, following a six-day visit by the island's opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT). The announcement, made on Sunday, includes plans to resume direct flights, ease travel restrictions, and facilitate the import of Taiwan's agricultural and fishery products.

The measures were unveiled by China's Taiwan Work Office and reported by the official Xinhua news agency, according to multiple sources. They come at the end of Cheng's trip to the mainland, during which she met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday — the first such meeting between leaders of the Communist Party and the KMT in nine years, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Coverage comparison

Reporting on the story shows broad agreement on the core facts. All five sources — Dawn, Deutsche Welle, Fox News, the South China Morning Post, and The Hindu — report that China announced a series of measures to ease tensions and promote exchanges with Taiwan. The number of measures is consistently given as 10 across all sources.

There is variation in how the measures are framed. Dawn and Deutsche Welle present them as part of China's broader push for peace and reconciliation, while Fox News emphasizes China's territorial claim and frames the measures as "limited trade and travel openings" designed to "press its territorial claim." The South China Morning Post, in two separate articles, highlights the positive reception from Taiwanese industry groups and businesses, noting that they "broadly welcomed" the package.

The Hindu's reporting is more restrained, focusing on the resumption of direct flights and imports of aquaculture products, with no mention of some of the more specific cultural or infrastructure measures covered elsewhere.

Key claims

According to all five sources, the package includes the following key elements:

• Resumption of direct flights: China will seek the "full resumption of normalized direct air passenger flights" between Taiwan and mainland cities, with new routes to destinations such as Urumqi, Xi'an, Harbin, Kunming, and Lanzhou, as reported by Deutsche Welle and others.

• Easing travel restrictions: China will ease restrictions on individuals traveling to Taiwan, specifically allowing residents of Shanghai and Fujian province to visit the island, according to Dawn and the South China Morning Post.

• Facilitating agricultural imports: China will facilitate the import of Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products, including those previously banned, such as pineapples, squid, and tuna. The Hindu and Fox News report that these products were banned in recent years.

• Regular communication mechanism: China will explore setting up a regular communication mechanism between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang, as stated by multiple outlets.

• Cultural exchanges: Taiwan-made television dramas, documentaries, and animations will be allowed to be broadcast on the mainland, provided they are "correctly oriented, wholesome and high-quality," according to Dawn and Deutsche Welle.

• Youth exchanges and infrastructure: The package also includes expanded youth exchanges and support for infrastructure links between Fujian province and the Taiwan-controlled islands of Matsu and Quemoy, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Perspectives

Chinese government and KMT: The Chinese government presented the measures as a step toward peaceful development of cross-strait relations. KMT officials welcomed the announcement. Vice chair Chang Jung-kung said the measures were "highly welcome" and "in line with the expectations of various sectors in Taiwan," as quoted by Deutsche Welle. During their meeting, Xi and Cheng both called for peace, with Cheng saying that "by opposing Taiwan independence, we can avoid war," according to Deutsche Welle.

Taiwan's government: The island's Mainland Affairs Council rejected the measures, calling them "political transactions" between the two parties that circumvented the government of Taiwan, as reported by Fox News. The Council's statement said that all cross-strait affairs involving public power must be negotiated by both governments on an equal and dignified basis, and described Beijing's concessions as "poisoned pills packaged as 'generous gift packages,"" according to Dawn.

Taiwanese industry groups: The South China Morning Post reported that Taiwanese industry groups and businesses broadly welcomed the package, saying it could ease pressures on local industries. The KMT was said to be "relieved" that the measures focused on economic and livelihood issues rather than politically sensitive themes.

Context: The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, which have been strained since the election of pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 and her successor, Lai Ching-te. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to annex it, as noted by Fox News. Both sides have blamed each other for the lack of large-scale Chinese tourism to Taiwan since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, a claim reported by Dawn.