Why Taiwan’s Opposition Party Leader Met with Xi: A Conversation with Dennis Weng and Albert Tzeng

In this episode of the ChinaPower Podcast, Dr. Albert Tzeng and Dr. Dennis Weng join us to explore domestic politics in Taiwan, with a particular focus on two key developments related to the Kuomintang (KMT) party, Taiwan’s largest opposition party. We examine the April visit of KMT Chairwomen Cheng Li-wun to China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and KMT Taichung City Mayor Lu Shiow-yen’s March trip to the United States. We discuss what these trips showcase about Taiwan’s domestic politics, dynamics within the KMT, the KMT’s current stance on Taiwan’s relations with China and the United States, and what implications these trips have ahead of the potential Trump-Xi meeting in May. Dr. Dennis Wang is Associate Professor and Graduate Director of Political Science at Sam Houston State University. Dr. Albert Tzeng is the founder of the strategic consulting service "Discursive Workshop” and previously served as advisor to two former Chairs of the Kuomintang political party in Taiwan.