TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) on Monday criticized questions from students and a professor during a speech at Soochow University, saying they were politically motivated and that the questioners were “unqualified.”
The speech, titled “KMT Reforms and the Path for Youth Participation in Politics,” included nearly 90 minutes for audience interaction. Chen Fang-yu (陳方隅), a professor in the university’s Department of Political Science, said he raised three questions regarding the KMT’s political positions and its impact on Taiwan, but Cheng did not provide specific answers, per the Liberty Times.
During the event, Cheng criticized the DPP’s governing performance, saying some party members were focused on retaining power and used Taiwan independence as a tool for elections. However, Chen noted that Cheng was a member of the DPP from 1988 to 2002, during which she had called for the elimination of the KMT, arguing its rule had negative effects on Taiwan’s democracy.
Chen said that during the authoritarian rule and White Terror period from 1950 to 1990, some Taiwanese who had studied abroad were reported by KMT agents for criticizing the KMT or fighting for democracy. He criticized Cheng, who has repeatedly said Russian leader Vladimir Putin is not a dictator, for misrepresenting Taiwan’s democratic development.
Chen said some participants asked about the KMT’s policies on major issues, but Cheng did not respond directly, saying some of the questions were influenced by media bias against the KMT.
Cheng said she would work to reduce what she termed as bias against the party. Chen pushed back, saying the KMT has blocked defense budget proposals widely seen as essential to Taiwan’s continued sovereignty and has accused President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of undermining democracy and seeking dictatorship. He added that some KMT members have praised China as a democratic country.
Cheng highlighted the importance of peace across the Taiwan Strait, arguing that there was no contradiction between the KMT’s official anti-communist stance and the party’s increasingly close ties with the Chinese Communist Party. Chen countered that China frequently sends military aircraft near Taiwan’s airspace and criticized the KMT for opposing defense budgets. He added that former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) reduced military procurement, halted intelligence operations against China, and significantly cut the intelligence budget.
Cheng claimed that the DPP is wealthy while the KMT is poor, citing her efforts to maintain the party’s operations. However, according to the Ministry of the Interior, the KMT’s assets total NT$23.4 billion (US$740 million), compared with NT$600 million for the DPP.
Chen criticized KMT-backed legislation as harmful to young people, including measures that halted reforms to public servant pensions, which could accelerate pension deficits. He also questioned her shift in stance, noting she previously worked on human rights issues opposing KMT authoritarian rule, and said he disagreed with her continued criticism of the DPP.
Chen added that Cheng’s speech included little discussion of the KMT’s reform plans or policies beneficial to Taiwan. While Cheng mentioned earlier this month that the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office had searched the KMT’s local branch, she did not explain that the investigation was linked to allegations of falsified signatures in a planned recall of DPP Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) earlier this year.