Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) on Saturday won the party’s chairperson election with 65,122 votes, or 50.15 percent of the votes, becoming the second woman in the seat and the first to have switched allegiance from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to the KMT.
Cheng, running for the top KMT position for the first time, had been termed a “dark horse,” while the biggest contender was former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), considered by many to represent the party’s establishment elite. Hau also has substantial experience in government and in the KMT.
Cheng joined the Wild Lily Student Movement in the 1990s, condemning the KMT and advocating for Taiwanese independence. She later entered politics as a DPP member, but left in 2002 before joining the KMT in 2005. She had been a legislator for two terms and Executive Yuan spokeswoman for more than a year, before becoming a TV political talk show host.
She helped drive the sleepy KMT chair race into an unexpected primetime showdown. Early on in the race, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), widely accepted as the most promising presidential candidate in 2028, was appointed by incumbent KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) to take over his post, but she refused, saying she needed to focus on Taichung. Meanwhile, Hau and his major backer media personality Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) claimed that China was interfering in the race and suggested that Cheng supported a smear campaign against Hau.
Cheng’s victory highlights a shift in the KMT’s mobilization of voters, from soliciting support through a tight network of local offices and party workers, to efficient use of traditional media and the Internet. It also underlined an undercurrent among noncore KMT members who demand reform of the party, and hope for it to take a stronger stance against the ruling DPP.
Cheng was not particularly close to the KMT’s central decisionmakers, nor did she have close connections with local factions. She has been characterized as an outspoken and incisive politician who is proficient in media and can attract public attention with clear, and sometimes controversial, narratives. She vowed to transform the KMT from “a gentle flock of sheep” to “a pack of belligerent wolves.” Her hatred for the DPP and her aim to “punish” it have become an emotional outlet for some KMT members, especially “deep blue” supporters who have been disillusioned with their party, which has lost the past three presidential elections.
The KMT has long claimed that it is the only party capable of communicating with Beijing, and that message was a focus of the chairperson campaigns. Hau called for maintaining reasonable national defense spending, while demanding that Beijing recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) and promise not to take military action if Taiwan does not declare independence. However, Cheng advocated for cutting military spending, and said Taiwan would be neither a “troublemaker” nor a pawn in US-China relations. She also pledged to help Taiwanese proudly say “I am Chinese.” Her clear “pro-China” position and “wolf warrior-like” stance toward the DPP is sure to further generate confrontation with the ruling party.
Despite strong support from regular party members, Cheng faces the immediate challenge of bolstering the party’s central core and integrating local factions, with whom she is not familiar. She must also coordinate with the party’s legislative ally — the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) — in the upcoming local elections next year, and clarify speculations of Beijing’s support and allegations of Chinese interference.
She might also struggle to fundraise and craft the KMT’s cross-strait narrative to win not just KMT and TPP voters, but also neutral voters in the 2028 presidential election, where China is always a focus. She needs to do that while not contrasting with or limiting the policies of the KMT’s presidential candidate.
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