Cheng Li-wen, Chairwoman of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) visiting mainland China, expressed her sentiments during a Thursday visit to Yangshan Port in Shanghai: “What should fly in the sky are birds,” not missiles. She posted on social media quoting the World War I poem 'In Flanders Fields', stating, “We still have time to bring peace to people today and for generations to come.”
According to reports from United Daily News, TVBS News Network, and China Times News Network, on April 9, Cheng Li-wen visited Yangshan Port in Shanghai, accompanied by Chen Binhua, Director of the Publicity Department of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the CCP Central Committee; Chen Tong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department; Jin Mei, Director of the Shanghai Taiwan Affairs Office; and Li Xiaodong, among others. She gave remarks after the visit.
Speaking about her impressions of Shanghai, Cheng Li-wen described Shanghai as a prosperous metropolis, but pointed out that it was once the site of the Opium War, the Battle of Shanghai, and the Chinese Civil War. She said: “The Opium War in 1842 happened there—it was the place the British invaded. In the Battle of Shanghai in 1937, the Nationalist government bravely fought against the Japanese army there for three brutal months, suffering heavy casualties. Later, during the Civil War, after millions lost their lives, 1949 saw it become a port of separation and farewell yet again.”
Cheng Li-wen said: “Many elders we know well left by boat from there... So, standing on the banks of the Huangpu River, Shanghai at this moment is so bustling and beautiful—more beautiful than at any other point in history. You can’t help but wish this beauty could last forever.”
Cheng further remarked that those who fell during history’s tragic moments and saw only flames of war and ruins, “Would they have known, or dared believe, that mere decades later the banks of the Huangpu River could be so dazzling and brilliant?”
She emphasized: “So, peace has power—it has the greatest power of all. As long as we give peace enough time, anything is possible.”
Cheng Li-wen also reflected, “What should fly in the sky are birds, not missiles; what should swim in the sea are fish, not warships,” voicing her hope that across the strait, both sides can work together to create regional stability.
On Thursday, Cheng Li-wen also posted on Facebook, mentioning the famous poem 'In Flanders Fields' from World War I, quoting: “If you break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep.”
Cheng stated that while it was too late to bring peace to those before us, “We still have time to bring peace to people today and those in the future.”