TAICHUNG, Taiwan — When veteran Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Fu Kun-chi boarded a plane bound for China with a delegation from his party a little over a year ago, the opposition coalition in Taiwan led by the KMT was riding high.
The party, which campaigns for closer ties with Beijing, had narrowly taken control of the legislature in January 2024 elections, in partnership with the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). Although it had at the same time lost the presidential election to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te, the KMT was back after eight years in the political wilderness.