Over the past two months, diplomacy among Taiwan, the United States, and China has intensified. In April, opposition KMT leader Cheng Li-wun met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, drawing significant attention across the Taiwan Strait. This was followed by Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing and his summit with Xi, with Taiwan once again looming in the background of US-China relations. Bringing together contributions from seasoned analysts, this special issue offers a range of perspectives on the latest developments in cross-Strait relations and the evolving dynamics among Taiwan, the US, and China.
The special issue features ten articles that collectively examine these developments from multiple angles. The first four focus exclusively on the Cheng–Xi meeting, while the remaining contributions analyse the implications of the Trump–Xi summit. In the opening article, Percy Yu argues that the Cheng–Xi meeting represents a diagnostic moment for Taiwan, testing whether the island can transform democratic pluralism into strategic agency. In the second piece, Sadia Rahman contends that the political significance of the meeting’s strategic timing ultimately depends on how Taiwanese voters interpret cross-Strait engagement. The third article, by Meng Kit Tang, examines Cheng Li-wun’s identity narratives, contrasting them with prevailing conceptions of Taiwanese identity and explaining the backlash surrounding her visit to China. The final piece of the Cheng-Xi meeting, by Gunter Schubert, asks questions about the KMT’s China policy, arguing that it is highly ideological and shaped by deep mistrust of the DPP and a risky belief in China’s goodwill.
Turning to the Trump–Xi summit, Percy Yu argues in the fifth article that Taiwan has become a central arena in great-power coexistence, with both Washington and Beijing seeking long-term strategic advantage while managing the risks of confrontation. In the sixth contribution, Meng Kit Tang interprets the summit as indicative of a broader shift in US-China relations, one in which Taiwan is increasingly marginalised and treated as secondary to the pursuit of great-power stability. Brian Hioe’s article situates the summits within the broader rise of Cheng Li-wun and the domestic reactions they generated, while noting that their implications for local elections later this year remain uncertain. Jacques deLisle, meanwhile, contends that although Taiwan avoided some of the worst-case scenarios anticipated ahead of the Trump–Xi summit, multiple sources of uncertainty and concern continue to fuel American scepticism in Taiwan. Ming-yeh Rawnsley reflects on the recent debate of how peace should be pursued, triggered by the Cheng-Xi meeting, through the documentary Behind the Scenes. It argues that peace cannot rest on denial but must be grounded in reality. The final article, by Chieh-Ting Yeh, questions the substantive outcomes of these summits with China and instead argues that the Lai administration should take a more proactive role in reaffirming the central narrative underpinning the US-Taiwan partnership.
After the Xi–Cheng Meeting: Taiwan’s Democratic Subjectivity and the Politics of Peace Written by Percy Yixuanchen Yu
CPC-KMT and the Politics of Strategic Timing? Written by Sadia Rahman
Chinese Identity with KMT Characteristics Written by Meng Kit Tang
Cheng Li-wun’s China Illusion Written by Gunter Schubert
After Beijing: Taiwan and the Summit Calendar of Constructive Strategic Stability Written by Percy Yixuanchen Yu
Between the Two Summits: Taiwan’s Quiet Marginalisation Written by Meng Kit Tang
Against Independence?: Shifts in US Posture on Cross-Strait Relations As a Second-Order Effect of the Rise of Cheng Li-Wun Written by Brian Hioe.
Fearful Summitry: Xi Jinping’s Meeting with Donald Trump and Implications for Taiwan and Cross-Strait Relations Written by Jacques deLisle.
Peace, Memory and the Risks We Choose Not to See Written by Ming-yeh T. Rawnsley (蔡明燁)