TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former New Taipei Deputy Mayor Hsieh Cheng-ta (謝政達) and former KMT Legislator Liao Wan-ju (廖婉汝) on Tuesday declined nominations from President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to serve on the Control Yuan.
Commenting on the rejections, Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said Lai had hoped to draw on Hsieh's experience in public administration and Liao's ties to local communities to strengthen the oversight body, per Tai Sounds. She expressed respect for their decisions and regret that they declined the nominations.
Kuo said Lai would continue to nominate Control Yuan members to ensure the institution functions properly, unless and until constitutional reforms are enacted.
Hsieh, a longtime aide to New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), announced his decision Tuesday and supported abolishing the Control Yuan, per UP Media. Senior KMT figures reportedly worked behind the scenes to persuade Hsieh not to accept the nomination and later sought to convince Liao to do the same, per UP Media.
Liao's position drew attention because she had recently criticized Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) for calling for the abolition of the Control Yuan, per Storm Media. At the time, she argued that Chiang, as a potential future presidential candidate, should seek constitutional amendments through the KMT if he wished to pursue such reforms instead of obstruction.
Liao also questioned whether Chiang would maintain that position if he were elected president.
Political commentator Huang Yang-ming (黃揚明) said the nominations may have been intended to expose or deepen divisions between local factions within the KMT and the party leadership, per Storm Media. He noted that Hsieh is widely viewed as a close ally of Hou and said Hou's claim that he had prior knowledge of the nomination, coupled with his lack of public opposition, had already fueled speculation within the KMT.
Huang noted that both Hou and Liao are associated with local factions in the party. He argued that any weakening of those ties could have implications for the KMT's positioning ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
KMT Vice Chair Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said both Hsieh and Liao were qualified candidates but that he did not know why Lai had selected them, per Storm Media. Asked whether the nominations were intended to divide the KMT, Hsiao said he preferred not to view the matter in those terms and instead emphasized the qualifications of the two nominees.
