KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun Criticizes Lai Ching-te’s May 20 Address

KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun Criticizes Lai Ching-te’s May 20 Address as “Full of Lies and the Biggest Joke of the Year” Questions Lai: “When Will the DPP Remove the Taiwan Independence Party Platform and Repeal the ‘Resolution on a Normal Country’?”

Regarding President Lai Ching-te’s speech marking the second anniversary of his inauguration, Kuomintang (KMT) Chair Cheng Li-wun stated today (May 20) during the KMT Central Standing Committee meeting that the entire speech was “full of lies and the biggest joke of the year.” She said the address fully reflected Lai’s deep insecurity, arguing that he could only pile up rhetoric and adjectives. Cheng stressed that Taiwan independence is unsupported by the international community, and that President Lai has both the obligation and responsibility to tell the public “when the DPP will remove the Taiwan independence party platform, and when the ‘Resolution on a Normal Country’ will be repealed.” Cheng emphasized that both the Taiwan independence platform and the “Resolution on a Normal Country” fundamentally deny the Constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), directly contradicting Lai’s repeated claims today that he intends to uphold the Constitution.

Regarding Lai’s remarks on military welfare, energy transition, nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, declining birth rates, and industrial upgrading, Cheng harshly criticized each point as unable to withstand scrutiny. She noted that while the KMT has pushed legislation to improve military welfare , the Lai administration has resisted to the very end. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), she said, once treated the “2025 Nuclear-Free Homeland” policy as sacred doctrine, only to now reverse course and discuss restarting nuclear power. She also pointed out that the DPP obstructed legislation on mandatory nurse staffing ratios during the amendment process, but later claimed the policy as its own achievement after passage. Cheng further argued that the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) had already proposed the “Taiwan Future Account” policy, whereas the DPP has only now hastily introduced a monthly child development allowance for ages 0 to 18. As for industrial transformation for traditional industries and SMEs, she questioned whether Lai’s proposal to allocate NT$100 billion over eight years—after already governing for two years—was “far too late.”

Cheng criticized Lai for completely avoiding discussion of Taiwan’s strategic position following the highly anticipated Trump-Xi summit, calling it the most critical issue facing Taiwan today. She argued that Lai’s self-deception and ostrich-like mentality would only place the national interests of the Republic of China in an increasingly unstable and dangerous position.

At the beginning of his speech today, Lai stated that when he took office two years ago, he had already expressed his determination to uphold the Constitution. Cheng responded, “When I saw that sentence, I laughed—laughed painfully and sadly.” She argued that Taiwan’s greatest problem over the past two years has been the ruling party and the president themselves taking the lead in undermining the Constitution and disregarding constitutional governance, which she described as the source of Taiwan’s major political turmoil.

Cheng further stated that Lai had already made history yesterday by becoming the first president in ROC constitutional history to face a formal impeachment motion and vote in the Legislative Yuan. Moreover, she noted that more legislators voted in favor of impeachment than against it. Although impeachment and recall procedures for a president face extremely high constitutional thresholds, Cheng argued that Lai’s case stems from his alleged contempt for constitutional governance, erosion of Taiwan’s democracy, intensification of partisan confrontation, and long-term humiliation of the legislature over the past two years.

Cheng said that in Lai’s May 20 speech, he claimed to safeguard Taiwan’s democratic and free way of life, yet she questioned who had actually undermined democracy and disrespected parliament over the past two years. She accused the administration of turning the Constitutional Court into a political tool and using the judiciary to suppress dissent and persecute opposition parties. “Who is destroying constitutional governance? Who is destroying our democratic and free way of life? Who has taken away judicial independence? Who has taken away press freedom? The list of offenses is endless,” she said.

Cheng also stated that Lai claimed to be committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, but noted that a 2025 article in Time magazine had described Lai as a reckless leader and Taiwan as the world’s most dangerous flashpoint. She added that Japanese media outlets including Yomiuri Shimbun had directly criticized Lai for causing social division and polarization through the mass recall campaign, saying Lai bears the greatest responsibility. Cheng questioned whether Lai had taken responsibility, reflected, or conducted self-examination, asserting instead that he had only intensified legislative confrontation and even refused to countersign or implement bills duly passed by the legislature.

Cheng further noted that following the conclusion of the Trump-Xi summit, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that America’s Taiwan policy had never changed, President Donald Trump likewise said in interviews that U.S. policy toward Taiwan remained unchanged, and the U.S. ambassador to Beijing also clearly stated in media interviews that Washington’s Taiwan policy had not changed. “What policy has not changed?” Cheng asked. “The One China policy and the policy of not supporting Taiwan independence have never changed.”

Cheng emphasized that the DPP and Lai Ching-te should stop evading reality and deceiving themselves. She argued that the DPP’s advocacy of Taiwan independence and the “two-state theory” have never been supported by the United States. Cheng added that President Trump had publicly stated he did not wish to see moves toward Taiwan independence and had clearly indicated that the United States would not send troops to support Taiwan independence, saying the U.S. military would not travel 9,500 miles for such a cause.

Cheng also quoted remarks made by U.S. Ambassador to Beijing David Perdue during an interview, in which he reportedly stated that the United States “fully supports the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiqués, and the Six Assurances; does not support Taiwan independence; does not wish to see coercion across the Strait; and hopes the issue can be resolved peacefully. What the United States wants is actually the same as what China wants: peace and stability. The U.S. does not take sides and hopes that the people of Taiwan and China can decide the future themselves.”

Cheng stated that remarks by President Trump in Beijing, his subsequent interviews after returning to the United States, and Ambassador Perdue’s comments all sounded very familiar. “Isn’t this exactly the same as the KMT’s position?” she asked. Cheng argued that these views reflect the longstanding cross-strait and Taiwan policies of both Beijing and Washington, as well as the long-term principles embedded in the ROC Constitution and the KMT’s own cross-strait policy. Based on these shared political principles and international consensus, she said, the United States, China, and Taiwan should work together to maintain peace and stability across the Strait, which she argued serves the interests of the Taiwanese people, the ROC Constitution, and the Republic of China itself.

Cheng questioned why the ruling DPP and Lai Ching-te refuse to directly address why they continue to advocate a Taiwan independence position unsupported by the international community. “When will the DPP remove the Taiwan independence party platform? When will President Lai repeal the ‘Resolution on a Normal Country’?” she asked again, reiterating that both positions fundamentally deny the ROC Constitution and directly contradict Lai’s claims that he upholds constitutional governance every day.

Cheng also demanded that Lai answer whether his loyalty lies with the ROC Constitution or with a hypothetical “Constitution of Taiwan.” She asked whether he seeks to draft a constitution for a “Taiwan Republic” or return to the ROC Constitution. She argued that Lai continues to enjoy the salary and authority of the ROC presidency while evading direct answers, exposing what she described as his obvious insecurity. Cheng further questioned whether Lai intended to continue being what international media have described as a reckless leader, troublemaker, and the most dangerous trigger point for cross-strait conflict.

Cheng additionally pointed out that Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang had publicly promoted the idea of a “Taiwan nation,” while DPP legislator Wang Yi-chuan had publicly stated that he is not a legislator of the Republic of China but rather of “Taiwan.” Cheng questioned whether Lai, as both president and party chairman, bears no responsibility to restrain such rhetoric, and whether these officials are following DPP ideology or the ROC Constitution.

Cheng sharply criticized Lai and the DPP for “continuing to deceive the public, manipulate language, and play semantic games.” She argued that a president of the Republic of China should govern openly and honestly instead of evading difficult questions. At a time when the world views Taiwan independence as the greatest potential flashpoint, she said, Lai cannot redefine Taiwan independence one moment and then deny its existence the next. Cheng argued that such inconsistency only demonstrates that the Taiwan independence movement has reached a dead end, and she urged the DPP not to continue “holding Taiwan’s 23 million people hostage.”

Citing the latest polling from the KMT think tank, Cheng stated that following her visit to mainland China and during the Trump-Xi summit period, over 80 percent of Taiwanese public opinion supported resolving Taiwan and cross-strait issues peacefully through dialogue and negotiation. She added that her proposal to end Cold War thinking and transform the First Island Chain from a military frontline into a “chain of peace and prosperity” received 65 percent public support. “Only the DPP is still stubbornly opposing this,” she said, accusing the ruling party of undermining regional and global peace and stability.

Cheng reiterated that Taiwan does not need to choose sides between the United States and China. She said she was pleased to see both American and Chinese leaders clearly expressing their commitment to peaceful and stable cross-strait and U.S.-China relations, calling this a shared aspiration for the United States, China, Taiwan, East Asia, and the wider world. “What about the DPP? What about President Lai?” she asked.

Cheng also criticized Lai’s statement that he would serve as the strongest supporter of Taiwan’s armed forces and ensure military personnel receive proper social respect. “I laughed again,” she said. “How can you say that?” Cheng pointed out that although the KMT passed legislation to improve military welfare, the Lai administration continued resisting implementation, causing unprecedented delays in the review of the national budget by the legislature. She accused Lai of insulting both the intelligence of Taiwan’s military personnel and the public.

On energy transition and stable electricity supply, Cheng said Lai’s remarks were equally unacceptable. She accused the DPP of treating the “2025 Nuclear-Free Homeland” policy as sacred doctrine, thereby causing Taiwan to diverge from global trends and become highly dependent on fossil fuels. She noted that the DPP harshly opposed nuclear power last year, only to advocate restarting nuclear energy this year. Cheng criticized the party for refusing to apologize or reflect on past mistakes while abruptly reversing course.

Regarding Lai’s pledge to implement nurse staffing ratio reforms, Cheng questioned who had opposed the legislation when the KMT caucus originally pushed for codifying the policy into law. She stated that it was the DPP and the DPP government that obstructed the reform throughout the legislative process, only to later repackage it as an administration achievement.

On Lai’s proposal to address declining birth rates through a NT$5,000 monthly child development subsidy for ages 0 to 18, Cheng argued that when she and TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang jointly proposed the “Taiwan Future Account,” the DPP had mocked and opposed the idea. She stated that the KMT and TPP had already submitted detailed and comprehensive proposals to the legislature, whereas the DPP’s current plan appeared rushed and poorly defined.

Cheng also criticized Lai’s proposal to allocate NT$100 billion over eight years for the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries and SMEs. Given that the presidential term lasts only four years and Lai has already governed for two years, Cheng questioned whether it was far too late to finally begin addressing industrial transformation. She noted that even during her own mainland China visits, she specifically requested visits to Zhongguancun to study industrial upgrading and transformation strategies for Taiwan.

Cheng argued that Lai’s speech marking two years in office should have focused on how many campaign promises had actually been fulfilled and presented concrete policy achievements, rather than appropriating opposition-backed proposals or issuing new empty promises. She questioned why the public should trust new promises when previous commitments remain unfulfilled.

Cheng emphasized that the KMT welcomes Lai and the DPP adopting KMT positions on cross-strait policy, national defense, resilience, economic development, and national competitiveness, but argued that Lai still failed to answer the most important questions or confront the most pressing issues. According to Cheng, the reason is simple: insecurity, incompetence, and inability to face reality.

Cheng called on the DPP to reexamine its party charter and platform, declaring that “the Taiwan independence platform can be retired, and the nuclear-free homeland policy can also be retired.” She said these policies had long passed their expiration date and no longer reflected reality.

Finally, Cheng stated that the new international situation is not actually new at all. The statements made by the U.S. secretary of state, president, and ambassador to Beijing, she argued, merely repeat positions that have existed for decades. Cheng said she has repeatedly asked the DPP to identify which countries do not follow a One China policy and which countries support Taiwan independence, but the DPP has never been able to provide an answer. She concluded by telling Lai and the DPP, “Stop deceiving people. Honesty is the best policy—and the only policy.”

Cheng stressed that the KMT will continue working hard in both the legislature and local governments. She argued that the KMT has proven itself to be the party that seriously governs, protects the people’s wallets, advances policies benefiting the country and future generations, and genuinely supports military personnel, civil servants, and teachers. “The only party truly capable of defending Taiwan,” she concluded, “has always been the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang).”

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