Eric Chu

Nantou Legislative By-Election Outcome Likely to Further Splits in the KMT

Brian Hioe
The DPP claimed victory in the Nantou legislative by-election over the weekend, with a victory by Frida Tsai over Lin Ming-chen of the KMT. Nantou is traditionally considered pan-Blue territory, as a result of which this is the first time that the DPP has won the legislative seat since the reorganization of the Legislative Yuan in 2008 to have 113 single-member seats. The by-election was to fill the seat vacated by preceding legislator Hsu Shu-hua of the KMT after her victory in the race for Miaoli county magistrate in the November 2022 nine-in-one elections...
EnglishMarch 2023Politics11 min read

Hsia Trip Results in Reaffirmation of 1992 Consensus

Brian Hioe
KMT vice chair Andrew Hsia once again traveled to China last week in order to meet with Chinese government officials. This included not only newly appointed Taiwan Affairs Office head Song Tao, who took office in December, but also CCP chief ideologist Wang Huning. Hsia has indicated in comments that the main portion of his trip is over, however, he will continue to travel around China to meet with Chinese businessmen in China...
Cross StraitEnglishFebruary 2023International6 min read

KMT Continues to Be Caught in a Bind Regarding 1992 Consensus

Brian Hioe
The KMT has experienced further controversy regarding the 1992 Consensus, following a recent interview by party chair Eric Chu with Deutsche Welle, as well as an article published by the CPPCC Daily, a Chinese state-run media outlet. It may not be surprising to note that both incidents have been leveraged on by the pan-Green camp for political ammunition, particularly given that the KMT’s unwillingness to swerve away from the 1992 Consensus continues to be a major weakness for the party...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalPoliticsSeptember 20226 min read