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New Leader for Taiwan's China-Friendly Kuomintang Party Signals Change

John Xie

   Taiwan's main opposition party has elected a reform-minded chairman,
   which could mean the party will reconsider its longstanding support for
   closer ties with China.

   The new chairman of the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), is
   Chiang Chi-chen, a 48-year-old lawmaker who pledged during his campaign
   to take a harder line against Beijing's influence.

   The KMT lost both the presidential and parliamentary elections in a
   landslide defeat to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in January,
   largely because of its pro-China stance. After the election, many
   younger generation members within the more than 100-year-old political
   party pushed the KMT to chart a new path, which would likely result in
   a setback for Beijing's quest to gain control over the self-ruled
   island.

   No congratulations from Chinese president

   China's Communist Party leaders have always worked to keep close ties
   with Taiwan's KMT, but there are signs that could be changing.

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