Overview
- Former lawmaker Cheng Li-wun won the Kuomintang chair election on Oct. 18 and is set to assume the post on Nov. 1.
- She secured 65,122 ballots for 50.15% of the vote as turnout remained below 40% of party members.
- Cheng has pledged to prioritize peace across the Taiwan Strait and opposed raising Taiwan's defense budget, a policy pushed by President Lai and backed by the United States.
- Taiwan's National Security Bureau reported 1,000+ TikTok videos and 23 YouTube accounts tied to the race, while China's Taiwan Affairs Office called the contest an internal KMT matter and rejected claims of official meddling.
- Xi's congratulatory note urged efforts toward reunification and closer CPC–KMT ties, while Cheng's reply stressed shared ethnicity and stability as the KMT and its ally hold a majority bloc in the legislature.