A first-term lawmaker who was blacklisted by Beijing over his alleged support for Taiwanese independence will challenge Taipei’s popular incumbent mayor in the local elections later this year. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s decision to nominate Puma Shen Pao-yang, an outspoken critic of Beijing whose political identity has been built around his calls to strengthen the island’s security, came as a surprise to many. The former academic joined politics only two years ago, entering the...
Cheng Li-wun is the chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT). In this wide-ranging interview, she discusses her vision for peace and cooperation between Taiwan and mainland China, her meeting in April with Communist Party chief Xi Jinping and her upcoming trip to the United States in June. The original interview was conducted in Chinese. SCMP Plus members can access the Chinese transcript. Chinese transcript: interview with KMT’s Cheng Li-wun by scmp