EDITORIAL: Cheng forgets what it is to debateChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) was on Monday last week invited to give a talk to students of Soochow University, but her responses to questions raised by students and lecturers became a controversial incident and sparked public discussion over the following days. Her answers revealed her prejudiced and condescending attitude, and her incapability (or intentional unwillingess) to explain, discuss and defend the KMT’s position and policies on important public issues. As an activist in student movements against the then-KMT’s authoritarian regime during her university years, Cheng should know that university campuses are traditionally hubs for open debate, critical thinking and the clash of diverse viewpoints. However, she chose to stigmatize students and had a disrespectful attitude, which only led people to think that her question dodging was because the KMT’s stance and policies cannot stand up to public scrutiny. Cheng on Saturday finally admitted that she anticipates a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in the first half of next year, but denied speculations that the KMT agreed to certain preconditions for the meeting to take place.

Source: Taipei Times December 28, 2025 16:11 UTC