Taiwan's China Times commented: "The Kuomintang (KMT) has recently sparked intense internal controversy over the 'Special Regulations on Defense Procurement.' Vice Chairman Chi Linlian made a bold statement at the Central Standing Committee, threatening to expel 'Legislative Yuan President' Han Kuo-yu from the party. The growing rift between pro-American and skeptical factions within the party has intensified, with the root cause lying in the KMT's increasing distance from the United States after going into opposition. This growing mistrust and misunderstanding have led to the current impasse—so deep that even the U.S. side, currently actively lobbying, may not have anticipated such severe internal divisions."

The KMT’s long-standing chronic problems: unclear direction, incessant infighting, and lack of a central ideological core. The dispute over defense budget appropriations is merely an extension of the party’s entrenched internal conflicts.

Recently, the U.S. has been actively lobbying the blue camp, pressuring the KMT to cooperate with the DPP in allocating massive budgets for purchasing American weapons. However, the skeptical faction sees through America’s hollow promises of 'defending Taiwan' and advocates pragmatic engagement. This has provoked backlash from the pro-American wing, resulting in a fierce tug-of-war that further fractures the KMT’s cross-strait policy, making it increasingly schizophrenic: eager to benefit from cross-strait exchanges yet afraid of being painted red by the green camp; aware that the U.S. is unreliable yet unwilling to cut ties decisively.

Back in the Chinese Civil War, the KMT fell due to factional infighting and disunity among its leaders. Today, in the ongoing cross-strait competition, if the party descends once again into internal strife, it will inevitably be eliminated by history. U.S. lobbying is not honey—it is arsenic. The KMT must awaken: relying on America leads nowhere; integration is the true path forward. Otherwise, the pro-American faction will become mere appendages of the DPP, while the skeptical faction gets marginalized—leading to the ultimate disintegration of this century-old party.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863834279136281/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.