Cheng Li-wun, the only female contender among six candidates, defeated former Taipei mayor Hau Lung‑bin by a wide margin, winning over 50% of the ballot, in the leadership race for Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang on October 18 according to a statement from KMT headquarters on Saturday evening.

Cheng is now due to assume office on November 1.

During her campaign Cheng adopted a reform-minded stance and told supporters that she aimed to turn the KMT from a “flock of sheep” into “lions” The Straits Times reports.

For many, however, the campaign was overshadowed by serious claims of interference in the party’s internal election. One prominent KMT figure and media personality, Jaw Shaw‑kong, alleged that online disinformation operations had boosted pro-Cheng sentiment, citing domestic reports of more than 1,000 TikTok videos and 23 YouTube accounts posting related content, with more than half said to be based outside Taiwan.

When asked about the role of Beijing in the matter though, the head of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, Tsai Ming‑yen did not confirm the origins of the monitoring of the campaigns on these platforms. Key for many in Taiwan was Tsai also opting not to publicly attribute responsibility to the Chinese government.

As a result, Cheng rejected the interference claims by Jaw and others as “very cheap labels”, admonishing politicians to restore rationality in domestic politics – an issue many on the island of around 24mn routinely point to as absent in recent years.

As the new head of the KMT, Cheng inherits the leadership of a party that has lost three consecutive presidential elections to the left-wing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and is seeking to revitalise its base ahead of the 2028 presidential contest, AP adds.

In Taiwan however, the KMT retains significant legislative influence and, under Cheng, is expected to emphasise pragmatism and cross-strait stability – an aspect of policy already being held up by DPP supporting media as evidence of her leanings towards China. But despite Cheng’s claims of being a reformer, her own relatively sudden rise raises questions about how the party will balance closer ties with China against a public in Taiwan increasingly wary of Beijing’s influence.

In the short-term, as has been reported by The Straits Times, Cheng’s stance on increasing defence spending proposed under President Lai Ching‑te is likely to set the tone for upcoming policy debates – the 55-year-old opposing DPP moves to curry favour with US President Donald Trump by raising Taiwan's current defence budget to 5% of the nation’s GDP.

More broadly, her leadership could signal a shift in KMT strategy - from long-term opposition to a party preparing for a return to power.