Kuomintang (KMT) Chairperson Cheng Li-wen led a delegation to China on Tuesday, April 7 and is scheduled to hold a “Cheng–Xi meeting” with Xi Jinping on the 10th. Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that between the KMT and the CCP, it is not only the Wu Shi espionage case that has harmed the country; the so-called “Beiping model” at the time was a key factor that led the entire nation toward ultimate defeat. He said he does not believe anyone in Taiwan today would accept such a “lying flat” model. He also said that political party representatives or individuals with substantial political influence who engage with the Chinese Communist Party in an open manner must be subject to strict oversight, especially oversight by the public and the media.
Cho Jung-tai: Taiwanese people do not accept surrender or ‘lying flat’
On April 7, Cheng Li-wen departed for China and is expected to meet CCP leader Xi Jinping on April 10 for the “Cheng–Xi meeting.” She said that in recent years, the Democratic Progressive Party’s crackdown on spies and mainland spouses has caused strong public resentment.
In response, Premier Cho Jung-tai said in an interview with the media at the Legislative Yuan during the morning interpellation session that party affairs activities are respected, but will be closely monitored. From a historical perspective, he said, it is not only the Wu Shi espionage case within the KMT–CCP interactions that caused serious harm to the country; the “Beiping model” under Fu Zuoyi during that era was a key factor that led the entire country toward final defeat. It involved a non-resistance, inaction-based form of surrender, which is the most well-known historical “Beiping model.” Cho said he does not believe anyone in Taiwan today would accept such a “lying flat” approach.
The so-called “Beiping model” refers to the final stage of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when Fu Zuoyi, commander responsible for defending Beiping (Beijing), in order to protect cultural relics and reduce casualties, chose to negotiate secretly with the CCP, cease resistance, and peacefully hand over Beiping. His forces were then reorganized by the CCP, allowing the Communist forces to enter Beiping without firing a shot.
According to Central News Agency (CNA), Cheng Li-wen accepted an invitation from CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping and led a delegation to China from April 7 to 12. There were external concerns that because of the “Cheng–Xi meeting,” the KMT caucus requested that negotiations on the draft “Special Act for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Procurement of Asymmetric Capabilities” be postponed from April 9 to April 15 or 16.
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Engagement with the CCP must be subject to strict oversight
During legislative questioning on the morning of April 7, Democratic Progressive Party legislator Shen Pao-yang said that civil servants must be jointly reviewed by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of the Interior before traveling to China. However, party chairpersons have long not been under a legal framework—“they go when they want and return when they want,” he said—raising concerns about how their discussions are monitored and how the Mainland Affairs Council can exercise control.
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng responded that whether to regulate political party agents or individuals with real political influence traveling to mainland China has long been discussed. The Executive Yuan’s draft amendment to the Cross-Strait Relations Act includes, for the first time, placing legislators under the category of “designated persons” requiring review. It also requires all elected officials to publicly disclose meetings with CCP party-state military entities, which was not required before.
Chiu said he supports Shen Pao-yang’s proposed amendments, noting that the MAC had considered such measures before, but due to the large number of political parties in Taiwan and the difficulty of defining “political influence figures” and “party agents,” the proposal was postponed for future consideration.
Shen suggested that political parties with a certain number of legislative seats, as well as party chairpersons and vice chairpersons with significant political influence, should be subject to a joint review mechanism similar to that applied to military, police, and key public officials.
Chiu said that in cases involving instructions, commissions, or funding from foreign hostile forces, the Anti-Infiltration Act has historically been difficult to enforce due to evidentiary challenges. Prosecutors and judges, together with the MAC, are currently studying how to improve evidentiary standards under the Act to make enforcement more efficient and practical.
Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that unless interactions are made public, it is impossible to verify whether individuals have received any instructions, commissions, or funding from the CCP. However, political party representatives or individuals with substantial political influence who engage with the CCP in an open manner must be subject to strict oversight, especially by the public and the media.
Cho added that the government had previously considered proposing legislative amendments, but faced significant opposition when limited to legislators. He said such preventive legislation is intended to stop problems before they occur. If any illegal conduct were to clearly emerge this time, the government would not only pursue preventive reforms but would instead carry out a form of “post-disaster reconstruction” of the entire legal framework to establish strong regulations and ensure national security.
By Li Jingyao
