"The world today is far from peaceful, making peace more precious," China's President Xi Jinping  emphasized in opening remarks at a meeting with Cheng Li-wun , the chair of Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) party. "The leaders of the two parties are meeting today to safeguard the peace of our shared home," Xi added, speaking as head of the Chinese Communist Party, "and to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations." Cheng echoed Xi's remarks, saying the two parties should pursue