Kuomintang chairman, in Washington, pitches his party as stabilising presence between Beijing and Taipei

Eric Chu’s visit to the US was timed to coincide with the recent reopening of the KMT’s representative office after a 13-year absence

‘In power or in opposition, we are the party [that is] pro-US, close to the US, pro-democracy and pro-peace,’ former vice-premier says

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Eric Chu speaking after winning the chairmanship of the Kuomintang party in Taipei in September. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:31am, 7 Jun 2022

Taiwan’s main opposition party is a “pro-US” stabilising presence amid heightened cross-strait tensions between Beijing and Taipei, its chairman said on Monday during a visit to Washington as the group reopened its representative office here after 13 years.

Eric Chu, chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT), sought to counter what he described as a mischaracterization of his party’s aims in remarks delivered as part of his 11-day tour of the US.

“We are mislabelled by some people or some media saying we are [a] pro-China party. It’s totally wrong,” Chu said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. “We are [a] pro-US party, forever. Since we inaugurated the party … in power or in opposition, we are the party [that is] pro-US, close to the US, pro-democracy and pro-peace.”

Chu’s messaging in Washington came as the KMT struggles to reassert its past prominence, having lost in Taiwan’s last two presidential elections in 2016 and 2020 to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by Tsai Ing-wen.

Chu is viewed as trying to raise the KMT’s profile ahead of Taiwan’s 2024 elections. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire via dpa

Since winning the party chairmanship in October, Chu, a former vice-premier and mayor, has been viewed as trying to raise the KMT’s profile ahead of Taiwan’s 2024 elections while tensions between Beijing and Washington over the island run higher and deeper.