KMT Chair Cheng Li-wen Mentions 'Cheng-Xi Meeting' in US; MAC's Liang Wen-chieh Says She 'Splashed Red Ink on Herself'

(Central News Agency reporter Li Ya-wen, Taipei, June 4) Kuomintang (KMT) Chairperson Cheng Li-wen mentioned during a speech in San Francisco that if she did not meet with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping, she would be nothing more than a 'figurehead chairperson.' In response, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister and Spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh stated today that these remarks were like 'splashing red ink on herself.'

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) held its regular press conference on the afternoon of the 4th, chaired by Liang Wen-chieh.

Liang stated that Cheng's remarks indicated she believed her power base was insufficient and required Xi Jinping's endorsement, calling it a clear case of 'a fox assuming the majesty of a tiger.'

He said, 'I believe this is the first time in history a KMT chairperson has described their position so disparagingly, and also the first time a KMT chairperson has publicly admitted that their position requires Beijing's approval.'

Liang questioned, if a KMT chairperson is nothing without Xi Jinping, then what is the KMT? He asked whether the KMT's blocking of military procurement budgets in the Legislative Yuan was also instructed by Xi Jinping. 'No one wants to paint Chairperson Cheng as a communist sympathizer, but her own words are like splashing red ink on herself,' he said. (Editor: Yang Sheng-ju) 1150604