Instead of betting the ranch on an ever more unreliable Washington, like William Lai, Cheng Li-wun is wisely reaching out to mainland China
3-MIN READ3-MINAlex Loin TorontoPublished: 9:30am, 15 Apr 2026Taiwan’s political pendulum is reversing. The government led by Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) William Lai Ching-te is increasingly discredited, not least for selling out the jewel of its semiconductor industry to the United States under pressure from President Donald Trump.The Legislative Yuan is controlled by the opposition led by the Kuomintang (KMT). Party politics is now institutionalised into a sustained confrontation between the island’s presidency and its legislature. Now, budgets can’t pass, including funds for arms purchases from Washington. The constitutional court can’t intervene to resolve the budget dispute because it has been paralysed by the lack of a quorum.
Lai tried to follow Trump and his Republicans’ playbook by nominating ideologically aligned justices to the court, but he was thwarted by the KMT and its junior opposition partner, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Lai’s government has effectively argued that the regular defence budget is insufficient by framing the cross-strait situation as an emergency. Of course, a more balanced diplomatic approach towards Washington and Beijing could ease tensions and spare the island’s taxpayers tons of money. Such balancing and hedging between the two superpowers is now de rigueur for governments around the world as Washington turns increasingly imperialistic against allies and foes alike. Not Taiwan under Lai.
