Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元), KMT caucus deputy whip Alicia Wang (王育敏) and former KMT legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) have been making appearances as a trio with unusual frequency, to the extent that the media and netizens have begun referring to them as “siblings” and the Legislative Yuan’s “three gems.” The cause that has brought them together — a rare gathering — is to lead political attacks against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
However, looking at the effect of the attacks — assessed via the poll numbers — one can only conclude that what they have done has only shored up support from the KMT’s core supporters — instead of attracting swing voters — which might be exactly what the attacks intended to do.
The “siblings” have held more than 10 news conferences over the past two weeks in the KMT caucus’ office, taking aim at Tsai Ing-wen’s family business, land ownership and stock holdings. Their “disclosures” might under normal circumstances actually have had teeth. However, the trio’s information has repeatedly been pointed out to be either numerically incorrect or deliberately misleading.
For example, in the most recent news conference, during which the group accused Tsai Ing-wen of underreporting the value of her corporate stock holdings in her official property declaration, Alex Tsai was confronted by a reporter who said that Tsai Ing-wen declared her shares at NT$10 per share — a common practice when declaring property followed by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Alex Tsai himself — according to public records.
In response, Alex Tsai said: “I never said [what Tsai Ing-wen did] was illegal,” frivolously and sarcastically adding: “Can I not appreciate the speculation techniques of my idol? Is this not within the boundaries of freedom of speech?”
Curiously, the exchange between the reporter and Alex Tsai was not live-streamed on the KMT caucus’ channel, where video recordings of news conferences are usually posted.
Chiu called the reporter “a part-time DPP worker” whose comments he need not respond to.
The results of such events are unsurprising, as reflected in poll results, considering that so many news conferences have been held and so many accusations made. It is not that the public believes that Tsai Ing-wen or the DPP can do no wrong; even if there have indeed been shady dealings, Alex Tsai’s and Chiu’s own lack of credibility renders their claims ineffective.
Alex Tsai was also the lead accuser in the Yu Chang Biologics case — which was closed after the election as no evidence of wrongdoing was found — during the 2012 presidential election, calling world-renowned AIDS researcher David Ho (何大一) a pimp. Meanwhile, Chiu has sealed his reputation as a person who cannot distinguish sunflowers from bananas; during last year’s Sunflower movement protests he mistook a bunch of sunflowers for bananas and claimed they were gifts sent by the DPP to protesting students.
The trio are instead appealing to those who have believed their words all along. As rumors spread that core KMT supporters are considering abstaining from voting due to the replacement of Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as the party’s presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate Jennifer Wang’s (王如玄) involvement in a scheme to profit from the sale of military housing units, the KMT has problems to secure even its own “iron votes.” It would not be a wild assumption that the three have been offering raw material for core supporters to burn to keep warm.
However, by employing such tactics, the KMT risks marginalizing itself. Alex Tsai is not running for another term, and Chiu has been nominated as a New Party legislator-at-large candidate. Might it be that the New Party is the form that the KMT is preparing to assume in the future?
On Sunday, 13 new urgent care centers (UCC) officially began operations across the six special municipalities. The purpose of the centers — which are open from 8am to midnight on Sundays and national holidays — is to reduce congestion in hospital emergency rooms, especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year. It remains to be seen how effective these centers would be. For one, it is difficult for people to judge for themselves whether their condition warrants visiting a major hospital or a UCC — long-term public education and health promotions are necessary. Second, many emergency departments acknowledge
US President Donald Trump’s seemingly throwaway “Taiwan is Taiwan” statement has been appearing in headlines all over the media. Although it appears to have been made in passing, the comment nevertheless reveals something about Trump’s views and his understanding of Taiwan’s situation. In line with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US and Taiwan enjoy unofficial, but close economic, cultural and national defense ties. They lack official diplomatic relations, but maintain a partnership based on shared democratic values and strategic alignment. Excluding China, Taiwan maintains a level of diplomatic relations, official or otherwise, with many nations worldwide. It can be said that
Victory in conflict requires mastery of two “balances”: First, the balance of power, and second, the balance of error, or making sure that you do not make the most mistakes, thus helping your enemy’s victory. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has made a decisive and potentially fatal error by making an enemy of the Jewish Nation, centered today in the State of Israel but historically one of the great civilizations extending back at least 3,000 years. Mind you, no Israeli leader has ever publicly declared that “China is our enemy,” but on October 28, 2025, self-described Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) propaganda
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) made the astonishing assertion during an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle, published on Friday last week, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator. She also essentially absolved Putin of blame for initiating the war in Ukraine. Commentators have since listed the reasons that Cheng’s assertion was not only absurd, but bordered on dangerous. Her claim is certainly absurd to the extent that there is no need to discuss the substance of it: It would be far more useful to assess what drove her to make the point and stick so
RSS