TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — KMT Chair-elect Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said Taiwan will not abandon armed self-defense but criticized the ruling party’s plan to raise military spending, Deutsche Welle reported on Friday.
Cheng said she was prepared to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping “a hundred times” if it could help restore peace across the Taiwan Strait. She said dialogue could “resolve all conflicts” and show “sincerity and goodwill” to the world.
Asked whether she could persuade Xi to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, Cheng replied that it was “not her job.” She said anyone could “try to persuade Xi” and sidestepped questions about Beijing’s growing military pressure.
Cheng said Taiwan must keep its determination to “defend itself with force.” However, she rejected calls to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, calling it unreasonable and accusing President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of bowing to US pressure.
Taiwan’s defense budget accounts for about 2.38% of GDP. Raising it to 5% would push the figure close to NT$1.5 trillion (US$49 billion), roughly half of the government’s total annual spending.
“No country in the world spends that much on national defense,” Cheng claimed. She added that a military build-up leads only to war.
When asked about Beijing’s “one country, two systems,” Cheng admitted it had very low acceptance in Taiwan but blamed the DPP for spreading hate and confrontation.
Cheng warned that Taiwan must not become another Ukraine. When asked if the decision might lie with China’s leader, Cheng said, “I don’t believe that.”
She added that the war in Ukraine should never have happened. She then argued that it was not entirely Russia President Vladimir Putin’s fault.
Pressed on whether Putin was responsible for launching the Russo-Ukrainian war, Cheng said, “Putin is not a dictator, he was democratically elected.”
Cheng added she hoped for a peaceful change of power in 2028 so the KMT could normalize relations with China. She argued that only sustained dialogue, not deterrence, could bring lasting peace to the Taiwan Strait.
