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Taiwan’s main opposition Nationalist Party on Saturday elected a former lawmaker as its new president in a competitive election marred by allegations of Chinese interference.
By a wide margin, Cheng Li-wun – the only female candidate in the race who established herself as a reformist – defeated the former taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin and four others are running for leadership of the China-friendly party. The Nationalists, also known as the KMT, maintain strong political influence in Taiwan despite losing three consecutive presidential elections to the independence-oriented ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
The party has enough seats to form a majority group with its allies in the legislature and survived two recall elections just months ago, triggered by concerns among its MPs over changes seen as reducing the power of the executive and favoring favoritism. ChinaWhich considers the island as its territory.
Scheduled to take office in November, Cheng could influence the way China handles its relations with Taiwan Beijing and other major policies and domestic and international political matters. She will also anchor the party in the 2026 local elections and the 2028 presidential race against incumbent Lai Ching-te.
During his campaign, Cheng promised to transform the KMT from a flock of “sheep” to a “lion”, hoping that the party could regain support from young people. Cheng was once a DPP member.
Beijing has a particularly strained relationship with Lai, whom it accuses of being a separatist. It has threatened to use force to bring Taiwan under its control if necessary, and has increasingly mobilized military, diplomatic, and economic pressure in an effort to weaken Lai’s administration.
Traditionally, the KMT has had warm relations with Beijing, where Chinese politicians have visited for exchanges. KMT supporters view the relationship as beneficial to the stability and economy of the island democracy, but its critics are wary of Beijing’s influence.
Last week, Hou Shou-kong, a supporter of Hou in the party, alleged that China was involved in an organized interference, citing videos attacking Hou and supporting Cheng.
The head of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, Tsai Ming-yen, said they found more than 1,000 videos discussing the election on TikTok, in addition to 23 YouTube accounts posting related content, with more than half of those YouTube accounts based outside Taiwan. They did not specify which candidates the videos supported or directly answer whether they were based in China.
In response to allegations of foreign interference, Cheng had previously called for party unity and cautioned against internal fighting, saying that would only harm the KMT and allow other parties to take advantage of divisions, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.
Chen Binhua, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that the election was an internal matter of the Party and that the views of some mainland Chinese Internet users do not represent the government’s position.
Led by the late leader Chiang Kai-shek, the Nationalists came to power in China in the 1920s fighting off invasions from Japan and then Mao Zedong’s Communists, who fled to Taiwan with the remnants of his army when Mao’s rebels took power. Taiwan began the transition from martial law rule to multi-party democracy in the 1980s and held its first direct presidential elections in 1996.