On the morning of April 8, the second day of her visit, KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun climbed the 392 steps of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing—steps she last climbed 21 years ago as part of KMT Chairman Lien Chan’s landmark 2005 “Journey of Peace"—where she laid a wreath before the white marble statue of the KMT’s founder. She and her delegation bowed three times and observed a moment of silence in memory of Sun.
The ceremony was remarkable for what was said. The KMT’s ceremonial text, read aloud by party spokeswoman Jiang Yizhen, opened with the date as rendered in the Republic of China calendar: “the eighth day of the fourth month of the 115th year of the Republic of China"—an assertion of the Republic of China’s continued existence, on mainland Chinese soil, in front of a Communist Party of China (CPC) official escort. Cheng was on the verge of tears during her remarks following the ceremony.
Speaking at the mausoleum, Cheng said Sun Yat-sen “founded Asia’s first democratic republic, the Republic of China,” and noted that “under the guidance of the Three Principles of the People, the KMT successfully built Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu into a free and democratic society.” She also praised China’s development under the CPC, drawing some criticism at home for the balance struck.
As expected, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council responded sharply. Spokesman Liang Wen-jie insisted the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum is “the only special protected zone where the CPC allows the KMT to mention the Republic of China,” adding that those comments made by Cheng would not be reported to mainland China’s 1.4 billion people. “What we’re really interested in,” he said, “is whether Chairwoman Cheng will use her meeting with Xi Jinping to raise these demands directly to his face.”