flâneur

Cheng Li-wun’s June 2026 Visit to the United States: Symbolism Over Substance | Global Taiwan Institute

globaltaiwan.org · 1,635 words · saved by 1 readers

Taiwan lives under the shadow of an authoritarian state determined to undermine, undercut, and extinguish Taiwanese sovereignty. One poisoned fruit of that effort is an induced defense incoherency and paralysis, which Taiwan has only recently and partly overcome. In part 1, I discussed how Taiwan needs an all-around defense centered on its new “strategy of erosion” (削弱戰略). This is a strategy intended to utilize Taiwan’s terrain to maximize defender advantages, and to systematically erode the PLA’s combat power as it presses in on the island—as well as to guard against a return of paralysis in defense planning.

On June 1, 2026, Kuomintang (KMT, 中國國民黨) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) embarked on a 15-day journey to the United States, her first such visit since assuming the party leadership in October 2025. This trip came after her highly publicized April trip to China, which included a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping. It also followed long and controversial debates in the Taiwanese Legislative Yuan (LY, 立法院) over a proposed special defense budget. As the chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party, Cheng has sought to position herself as an advocate for the…

related reading