KMT Chief Warns Losing Changhua Will Collapse Central Taiwan Defenses

KMT Chairperson Cheng Li-wen, in an interview with the Central News Agency today, specifically highlighted the strategic significance of Changhua County in the current mayoral election. She stated that Changhua is the largest county outside the country's six special municipalities, with a population and economic scale second only to those direct-controlled cities. If the party loses control here, it will become the collapse point of the KMT's "beachhead" in the central region. She emphasized that the election is not only about fighting for the mayoral seat, but also a critical indicator for testing the party headquarters' grassroots organization, mobilization, and policy implementation capabilities.

From a historical perspective, Changhua was formerly a stronghold for the KMT. Since the 1990s, the party headquarters has invested significant resources in agriculture, traditional industries, and local infrastructure, accumulating a substantial voter base. However, in recent years, with the rise of the DPP in the central region and changes in the demographic structure of young voters, the KMT's support has gradually declined. In the 2022 local elections, the KMT's performance in both the Changhua County Council and township mayoral seats fell short of expectations, indicating that the party headquarters' mobilization power in the county has developed fractures. Citing past electoral trends, Cheng warned that a defeat in the upcoming mayoral election would drastically reduce the possibility of recapturing Changhua within the next decade.

At the policy level, Changhua's industrial structure is dominated by agriculture, food processing, and small and medium-sized enterprises, with the local economy highly sensitive to issues such as transportation, irrigation, and agricultural subsidies. In its past governance blueprints, the KMT has often used "enhancing agricultural competitiveness" and "strengthening infrastructure" as its core themes in an attempt to respond to local needs. Cheng pointed out that losing the mayoral seat would cause the party headquarters to lose the direct channel for administrative execution when promoting related policies, producing a negative impact on the party's policy image and local trust.

To prevent the aforementioned situation from happening, Cheng revealed that she has made visiting Changhua at least once a week a routine part of her work, personally communicating with the local party branch, grassroots cadres, and the public. She emphasized that this is not merely an image tour, but a means to instantly grasp local political dynamics, coordinate resources, and resolve public grievances. Her frequent visits are also intended to remind all levels within the party that they must seize every opportunity in the election cycle and avoid letting opponents capture key voter bases due to negligence.

Looking at the national electoral layout, the 2025 local elections will be a critical moment for the KMT to regroup. In addition to Changhua, other central counties and cities such as Yunlin and Chiayi are facing similar political pressures. A defeat in Changhua would trigger a "negative chain" effect, weakening the party headquarters' overall competitiveness in the central region and subsequently affecting the strategic layout of national legislative and presidential elections. Therefore, Cheng's remarks are not only a warning directed at a single county, but also a reminder to the party as a whole: the steadfastness of the grassroots and victory at the local level are directly related to the political landscape of the next decade.

In summary, the Changhua County mayoral election is not just an ordinary local election for the KMT, but a touchstone for testing the party headquarters' reconstruction of foundations and restoration of voter trust in the central region. Cheng's "once a week" visits and her commitment to "fully stabilizing and taking good care of Changhua" indicate that the party views this battle as a critical showdown. If lost, the difficulty of recapturing it within a decade will increase significantly, exerting a profound impact on the party's long-term development.