00:00The vice chair of Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, returns to Taiwan after a high profile trip to Beijing, where he attended a cross-strait think tank forum and met with Chinese Communist Party officials, including a top member of the CCP's Politburo. Exchanges, he says, were beneficial.
00:30The visit comes amid high tensions between Taiwan and China, and as Beijing has completely cut off communication with Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party. But with the KMT, ties are warmer.
00:44During the vice chair's Beijing trip, China announced it would soon allow Shanghai residents to travel to two outlying Taiwanese islands at a time when Chinese tourists are still banned from visiting most places in Taiwan.
00:57The KMT and the CCP also released a statement, agreeing to work together on areas like medical training, environmental protection, and tech.
01:07But all of this has sparked criticism from Taiwan's government.
01:11Taiwan's mainland affairs council, which handles relations with China, says Beijing allowing more tourism is likely just a political stunt.
01:18Taiwan President Lai Qingde also appeared to denounce the KMT for promoting exchanges with China, while also repeating the
01:48heatedly blocking a special defense budget that would help defend against China's military threats.
01:54And experts say some of the ways the parties have agreed to work together could be dangerous for Taiwan.
01:59Still, the KMT celebrates the trip as a win, and says it expects more high-level exchanges in the future.
02:21Some experts think its ultimate goal is a meeting between party head Zheng Li Wen and Chinese President Xi Jinping,
02:29but sure to receive pushback at every step from Taiwan's government and the ruling DPP.
02:34The political divide in Taiwan, glaringly clear.
02:38Devin Tsai, Ryan Wu, and Keynes Quaranta for Taiwan Plus.
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