Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Eric Chu/Facebook
THE KMT HAS become embroiled in several scandals regarding Ukraine and Russia as of late.
In the first scandal, the KMT came under fire for inviting Russia’s diplomatic representative to Taiwan to its international banquet last month. KMT chair Eric Chu has since apologized for the incident, stating that the KMT would take responsibility for the incident. This has not prevented criticisms from the DPP, which has accused the KMT of showing its true colors through the invite.
In particular, the KMT officially stands with other like-minded democracies against encroachment from authoritarian regimes such as Russia. Under Chu, the KMT has also sought to turn around its pro-China image, through a pivot toward the US. This, however, has largely been unsuccessful, with resistance from other KMT politicians such as former president Ma Ying-jeou. One notes that a delegation of seventeen KMT legislators traveled to China in late April, constituting around 1/3rd of the KMT legislative caucus, one would be unlikely to see a similarly large delegation travel to the US at present.
Nevertheless, KMT politicians much more rarely appear at public events to express support of Ukraine. But the question lurking in the background for the KMT largely stems from America’s support of Ukraine and China’s backing of Russia. To this extent, drawing on international political discourse, in the past years since the start of the war in Ukraine, the KMT has leaned into political narratives that allege that Russia only attacked Ukraine because the Ukrainian government became too close to NATO. The suggestion, then, is that Taiwan could see a similar fate if it becomes too close to the US.
This, then, serves to explain the other controversy that the KMT has become embroiled in, with KMT legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin accusing the Tsai administration of misconduct over funding for humanitarian assistance for Ukraine in collaboration with Czechia and Lithuania. Hsu accused this of being for the sake of skimming off money and political corruption, rather than for the sake of aid.
While Hsu began her political career as a young KMT politician who called for reform in the party, Hsu has increasingly leaned into political attacks on the pan-Green camp that verge on the conspiratorial. For example, Hsu previously claimed that Spirit of America, an American veteran’s assistance organization, was an organization that sowed conflict wherever it went in the world, and that its presence in Taiwan was also to sow conflict.
KMT legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (center). Photo credit: Hsu Chiao-hsin/Facebook
Likewise, with the Tsai administration having proven highly successful in strengthening relations between Taiwan and the US, as well as other western countries, it has become increasingly common for the KMT to allege that this occurs only through illicit pay-offs. With American politicians visiting Taiwan in the wake of then-US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August 2022, it was alleged that the Tsai administration paid off such trips, so that such politicians would parrot the Tsai administration’s line.
Ironically, one notes how this refracts the truth in a glass darkly, in that Taiwan historically has maintained much of its remaining diplomatic ties through “dollar diplomacy”. Yet this occurs with countries that are far smaller than Taiwan in terms of the size of its population and economy–and this was a diplomatic strategy that Taiwan engaged in starting under the KMT’s rule.
Hsu would be hitting out at Czechia and Lithuania, in turn, in suggesting illicit ties to Taiwan because these are among the earliest European countries that were receptive to the Tsai administration’s charm offensive. Part of the alignment with Taiwan is, interestingly enough, driven by that Czechia and Lithuania face geopolitical threats from Russia and have hoped to signal alignment with the US, as well as that they see commonalities with Taiwan’s authoritarian past, and do not have as strong investments in China as western European countries.
Yet perhaps Hsu finds it politically expedient to lash out at Czechia, Lithuania, and indirectly, the notion of aid to Ukraine, is perhaps more telling about where the KMT’s own alignments are at present. After all, even if Eric Chu has sought to emphasize the KMT as standing with like-minded democracy, Hsu’s attacks reflect how a not insignificant political strain of the KMT has sought to try and undercut this messaging.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made it known that it intends to pursue legal charges against Hsu for disclosing confidential documents, as well as stressing that such confidentiality is normal for such memorandums of understanding. Still, Hsu is likely to lean into claims that this would constitute a form of political persecution from the Tsai administration.