As Washington pressures Taiwan to spend big on defenses against a potential Chinese attack,
one of the island’s most outspoken politicians is arguing the opposite approach: less confrontation and more dialogue. Fresh from holding talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, and days before US President Donald Trump will do the same, the head of Taiwan’s largest opposition party told CNN that weapons alone will not keep Taiwan safe.
“Taiwan does not want to become the next Ukraine,” warned Cheng Li-wun, chair of the Kuomintang, or KMT.
Her comments came in an interview just hours before Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature passed a watered-down version of President Lai Ching-te’s proposed defense package, slashing the roughly $40 billion plan by about a third after months of political deadlock.
