Cheng Li-wun

Cheng Li-wun (Chinese: 鄭麗文; born November 12, 1969) is a Taiwanese politician and lawyer. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT), she was elected the party's chairperson in 2025 and is expected to assume office on November 1, 2025.

Cheng Li-wun
鄭麗文
Official portrait, 2020
Chairwoman-elect of the Kuomintang
Assuming office November 1, 2025
Deputy	Lee Chien-lung Chi Lin-lien
Secretary General	Lee Chien-lung
Succeeding	Eric Chu
Member of the Legislative Yuan
In office February 1, 2020 – February 1, 2024
Constituency	Party-list
In office February 1, 2008 – January 31, 2012
Constituency	Party-list
2nd Spokesperson of the Executive Yuan
In office October 23, 2012 – February 17, 2014
Prime Minister	Sean Chen Jiang Yi-huah
Preceded by	Huang Min-kung (acting)
Succeeded by	Sun Lih-chyun
Member of the National Assembly
Mission based May 30, 2005 – June 7, 2005
Constituency	Nationwide and Oversea
In office May 20, 1996 – May 19, 2000
Constituency	Taipei 1st
Personal details
Born	November 12, 1969 (age 55) Kouhu, Yunlin, Taiwan
Political party	Kuomintang (after 2005) Democratic Progressive Party (1988–2002) Independent (2002–2005)
Education	National Taiwan University (LLB) Temple University (LLM) University of Cambridge (MSc)

Chen sat in the National Assembly and Legislative Yuan for several terms, first as a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (until 2000) and then as a member of the Kuomintang (after 2005).

Early life and education

Cheng was born in Kouhu, Yunlin, on November 12, 1969, to a middle-class family whose ancestral home is in Yunnan.^[1] She was raised in East District, Tainan,^[2] and grew up in a military dependents' village.^[3] Her father, a Yi soldier in the Chinese Expeditionary Force, was from Pu'er City, and her mother was born in Kouhu.^[4]

After graduating from Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School,^[5] Cheng attended law school at National Taiwan University (NTU), where she became the president of the university's debate society (台大論壇社), participated in the Wild Lily student movement, and received her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree. As a Wild Lily student activist, she campaigned for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and advocated for Taiwanese independence.^[6]

She then studied law in the United States at Temple University and earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in international law from its Beasley School of Law.^[7] She completed further graduate studies in England, earning a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in international relations from the University of Cambridge,^[8] where she was also a doctoral Ph.D. candidate in international relations.^[7] As a graduate student at Cambridge, Cheng studied under Dutch historian Hans van de Ven and intended to begin an academic career.^[9]

Career

After graduating from Cambridge, Cheng became a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), serving in the National Assembly as a representative from Taipei from 1996 to 2000 and in the party's youth organization afterwards. She was suspended (or, according to Cheng herself, resigned) from the party in 2002^[10] in the wake of Diane Lee's wrongful accusations that Twu Shiing-jer had sexually harassed ("ear-licked") a male restaurateur.^[11]

Cheng left the Legislative Yuan following her departure from the DPP, but rumors that she now was aligned with the Pan-Blue Coalition were confirmed by her appearance at a March 2004 Kuomintang rally protesting the 2004 presidential election. Following her failed campaign to be elected as an independent candidate for Kaohsiung, she officially joined the Kuomintang (KMT) in 2005. She was quickly promoted within the party, and was elected as a party-list member of the Legislative Yuan in 2008. She was not reelected upon her run for a Taichung seat 2012, losing to Ho Hsin-chun. After her defeat, she served as Spokesperson of the Executive Yuan for two years, being replaced by Sun Lih-chyun.^[12] From her departure from the Executive Yuan to September 2015, she hosted a talk show on TVBS. She served as deputy secretary-general of the KMT between August and November 2018. She returned to the Legislative Yuan in 2020 and served as secretary-general of the KMT caucus in the Yuan in 2021. On October 12, 2021, she had a heated argument with DPP legislator Su Tseng-chang regarding the 2002 "ear-licking" case.^[13] She left the Yuan at the conclusion of her term in February 2024.

On June 11, 2025, Cheng, Julian Kuo, Chen Pei-jer, Holger Chen, and others announced the foundation of the "Opposition Alliance", a party intended to "revive the spirit" of the tangwai movement and combat the DPP's "green terror".^[14]

Chairperson of the Kuomintang

On September 18, 2025, Cheng Li-wun registered to run for the KMT chairmanship at the KMT Central Party Headquarters.^[15] She was elected Chairperson of the Kuomintang on October 2025 and is expected to assume office in November 2025.^[16]

Political positions

Cheng is viewed as favoring closer relations to mainland China. She supports the 1992 Consensus and strongly opposes Taiwanese independence, which she has called "Taiwan independence fascism".^[17] During her campaign to become Kuomintang chairperson, she said that she wants "all Taiwanese people to be able to proudly and confidently say, 'I am Chinese.'".^[18] She also stated that "Taiwan and the mainland should join forces to reach new heights in human civilization".^[19]

Cheng has stated she is open with Chinese leader Xi Jinping if "it could ease tensions and promote peaceful cooperation".^[20] Cheng has warned against Taiwan overrelying on the United States, saying Taiwan "must not become a sacrifice or Trump's bargaining chip" and that it "must not become another Ukraine". She opposes raising Taiwan's defense budget to five percent of the gross domestic product, calling it "too high and unreasonable for Taiwan".^[17]

Personal life

Cheng's family stems from Yunnan Province.^[12] Cheng married her long-time boyfriend Luo Wu-chang in 2011.