Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang

 



In April, the leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party traveled to mainland China for a red-carpet six-day tour, the first such visit in nearly a decade.
Officials treated Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang, or KMT, to high-level meetings and a Shanghai river cruise.

Beijing is trying to exert more influence on the ground in Taiwan. One way it hopes to do that is by working with Cheng, a 56-year-old former legislator and TV talk-show host who emerged unexpectedly last year as the head of the opposition in Taiwan and a possible future presidential candidate.

Tall and telegenic, with smartly tailored suits, she has a delivery so forceful that organizers of a press briefing late last year stopped to re-test three microphones before concluding she simply speaks at what local journalists described as “talk-show volume.” 

“Many friends in the international media have asked me whether I am pro-China or pro-U.S.,” Cheng said during a party meeting in Taipei. “I ask in return: Why can’t I choose both? Why must I choose a side?”

“We will never forget the friendship and generosity of the United States,” she added. “But at the same time, mainland China is our family, and we could never bring ourselves to harm our own flesh and blood.”

Cheng and her supporters say she has no plans to bend to Beijing and simply wants to promote better relations. 
Cheng declined to comment. 


Chiang Kai-shek 

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