New KMT Leader Reportedly to Meet US Representatives in Taiwan

TaiwanPlus News

The new chair of the main opposition Kuomintang is reportedly set to meet with officials from the US' de facto embassy in Taiwan. This comes amid a widening partisan divide over how much to spend on the country's defense. The debate has alarmed some in Washington, though experts say the US has not changed its strategy toward Taiwan.

Transcript

00:00I'm here at the American Institute in Taiwan, the U.S.'s de facto embassy here.

00:05Officials from this building are set to meet with the new head of Taiwan's main opposition,

00:09Kuomintang, Zheng Liwen. That's according to two sources who spoke to Taiwan Plus on condition

00:14of anonymity. This comes amid fierce debates between the KMT and the ruling Democratic

00:19Progressive Party over how much to spend on Taiwan's defense. Taiwan is reviewing a special

00:25defense budget that one DPP lawmaker says could reach as high as US$40 billion. Zheng openly

00:31opposes increasing defense spending and has been critical of U.S. calls for Taiwan to raise

00:36it to up to 10% of GDP.

00:38Responding to questions about the meeting, an AIT spokesperson told Taiwan Plus that the agency

00:58holds regular discussions with leaders from across the political spectrum in Taiwan. It said this is

01:03part of continuing efforts to strengthen the U.S.-Taiwan partnership. We also reached out to

01:08the KMT but did not receive a response. One expert says it's normal for U.S. officials to show concern

01:14over Taiwan's defense capabilities, especially as a key political figure pushes back against increased

01:20defense spending. But he says Washington's overall position on Taiwan remains unchanged.

01:25The direction of the U.S. policies are remaining the same. That is to strengthen the ties with the

01:33allies and also to strengthen the Indo-Pacific strategy.

01:37This won't be the first time that the AIT has met with KMT officials recently. In August,

01:43the Institute met with party lawmakers to discuss U.S.-Taiwan defense cooperation.

01:48The KMT posted afterwards on social media that it supports raising defense spending to 3.5% of GDP.

01:55Some say the meeting between the AIT and Zheng shows Washington's interest in

01:58and understanding the new KMT leaders' approach to Taiwan's defense. That's as the country looks

02:04ahead to next year's military projects. Patrick Chen and Ellen Lu in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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