The KMT's 'imperialist' rhetoric shifts Taiwan's democratic fault line
I published an op-ed in Asia Times, the leading English-language media outlet on Asian affairs, about the rhetorical shift of the Kuomintang (KMT) in Taiwan.
During her visit to China this week, KMT President Cheng Li-wun blamed “imperialist forces” for the separation between Taiwan and the mainland — adopting word for word the Leninist vocabulary of the Chinese Communist Party. This is not a slip of the tongue: it’s a strategic signal, and its implications for Taiwanese democracy are considerable.
In this article, I analyze why this word — “imperialist” — marks a break with previous KMT presidents, how it fits into a progressive erosion of the party’s rhetorical safeguards, and what this means for democratic alternation in Taiwan.