Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Li Zhen-xiu/Facebook
THE TPP SEEMS set for controversy after the resignation of six legislators. This takes place as part of the TPP’s unique provision in its party charter that specifies that party list legislators serve for only two year terms, after which they are replaced with other TPP members.
The TPP’s two-year term limit may have been imposed as a means of preventing any legislator from challenging the authority of party leader Ko Wen-je, who the party is built around. The TPP was originally formed as a vehicle for Ko to run for president.
Nevertheless, as the two-year limit approached, some TPP legislators balked at following through. It was also questioned what the fate of the party would be with Ko currently facing a long prison stint on corruption charges. With Huang Kuo-Chang assuming leadership of the party in the resultant power vacuum, questions were raised about if Huang would, too, resign. Huang’s own political ambitions suggest, after all, that he might not want to step away from the position so easily. At present it appears that Huang will continue as acting party chair while resigning his position as legislator, and seeking to run for New Taipei mayor.
What has primarily led to controversy, however, is that this means that Li Zhenxiu is set to take up a position as legislator. Li has already been sworn in. Li was born in China and concerns have been raised about whether Li has, in fact, genuinely given up her Chinese nationality, a condition for taking office. Li is required to submit an application if having given up her Chinese nationality before being sworn in and completing relevant procedures in one year of taking office.
Li, then, will be the first “Chinese spouse” of a Taiwanese to take office. Li acquired Taiwanese nationality through marriage to a Taiwanese national, who she divorced in 2024. The timing of Li entering the legislature is a sensitive one, in that the issue of Chinese spouses of Taiwanese had become an increasingly sensitive one in the past few years. This occurs after the Lai administration invalidated the residency of several Chinese spouses of Taiwanese, who were known as online influencers, over public expressions of support for unification between Taiwan and China using force.
Li has to date avoided public commentary on the matter. Security concerns have been raised about a Chinese national becoming a legislator and in this way gaining access to classified data pertaining to national security. Though Li’s oath may be invalid if she does not follow through on giving up her Chinese nationality, the KMT and TPP-controlled legislature may still approve her as a member of the legislature.
Although controversy about the matter continues, the Central Election Commission has already approved the appointment. By contrast, the Ministry of the Interior has stated that it has not received documentation proving that Li has given up her Chinese nationality, and that Li’s paperwork was incomplete. The watchdog NGO, the Citizen Congress Watch, has stated similarly that Li does not appear to have gone through the process.
For her part, Li claims that public security bureaus in Hengyang City in Hunan Province and in Hengnan County denied her application to give up her citizenship. Li did not help the matter herself through a gaffe stating, “I only have citizenship of the People’s Republic of China,” which she later denied.
The Lai administration has stated that administrative entities would refuse requests for information by Li on the basis of security concerns. This furthers the ongoing conflict between the KMT-controlled legislature and the DPP-controlled executive. Yet one notes it is already the case that Taiwanese legislators belonging to the KMT have faced accusations of disclosing classified information to China, with Ma Wen-chun accused of disclosing information about Taiwan’s domestic submarine program to China.
It, too, is unclear as to how the Chinese government will react to the matter, potentially weighing in to side with Li and the TPP—though this could perhaps turn public opinion against the TPP. In spite of attempting to brand itself as more moderate than the KMT on cross-strait issues, it would not be the first time that the TPP faced controversy regarding potential links to Chinese spying, either. In 2024, the party expelled spokesperson Ma Chih-wei after she faced charges of receiving election funds from Chinese operatives in return for providing information on government agencies. This included details such as the names, titles, and phone numbers of individuals working in the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, National Security Bureau, and Presidential Office, and Ma received part of the funds in cryptocurrency.
This time around, the TPP has backed Li, emphasizing Li’s long-term residency in Taiwan and asserting her loyalty. Still, in associating the party with a longtime platform of the KMT—support for Chinese spouses of Taiwanese, a demographic that the KMT has traditionally courted the votes of—it is possible the controversy further erodes distinctions between the TPP and KMT in the eyes of the general public.
Still, the KMT is likely to alarm on similar grounds, with plans to appoint Qin Pengzhen to the party’s central committee. A businesswoman with interests in both Taiwan and China, Qin herself was born in China. It is to be seen if this leads to a similar controversy. The matter of current or former Chinese nationals entering the highest arena of politics does not seem resolved.