国民党主席洪秀柱首度访问大陆

Hung Hsiu-chu will arrive on Sunday to start her five-day visit.

It will be her first to the mainland since becoming head of the KMT on March 30.

It also will mark the first visit by the KMT's leader since the party lost the island's leadership and its legislative majority to the Democratic Progressive Party in January.

Wang Jianmin with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, has suggested the visit comes at a time when the Kuomingtang Party struggles on the island.

"Her party is facing a very tough yet crucial moment after its defeat in the island's election. It's a big challenge for the party to chart out a course for its future development. The visit will help her to seek more common ground with the mainland side over cross-straits relations."

A detailed schedule for the visit has not yet been decided although there is the possibility of a meeting with President Xi Jinping, as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

High on her agenda in the mainland is a forum on cross-Straits relations scheduled for November 2 in Beijing.

The forum serves as an effort by the two sides to achieve peaceful cross-Straits development.

Wang Jianmin is expecting the forum to help reverse the current situation across the straits.

"The cross-straits relationship is at a low ebb due to the Democratic Progressive Party's pursuit of Taiwan Independence after it assumed power. So how to deal with the current situation is very likely to be discussed during her trip."

Cross-Straits relations have chilled with the DPP head, Tsai Ing-wen, choosing to ignore the 1992 Consensus which affirms the one-China policy and opposes "Taiwan independence".

The policy has prompted a big fall in the number of mainland tourists traveling to the island.

Earlier, Hung said the forum in Beijing would help Taiwan people seek a way out, and that it is the KMT's responsibility to guide public opinion.

In addition, professor Wang Jianmin said the upcoming discussions may also include a peace treaty.

"This is an area where both the Communist Party and the Kuomingtang Party attach importance. In the new Party Constitution of the KMT, Hung Hsiu-chu has mentioned a plan to discuss the possibility of a peace treaty that will put an end to the current state of enmity between the two sides."

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan are still technically at war, as the civil war ended in 1949 without a peace treaty.

During her trip, Hung will also visit Nanjing, which was the Chinese capital during the reign of the Nationalist government.

It's also the location of the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, who founded the Kuomingtang Party.