TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s parliament on Thursday elected a former presidential candidate for the largest opposition party as its new speaker, who will be responsible for hosting visiting foreign lawmakers and who the ruling party has said is pro-China.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Lai Ching-te last month won the presidential election but the party lost its majority in parliament. China, which claims Taiwan as its own despite the objections of the government in Taipei, views the DPP as separatists.
Under Taiwan’s presidential system of government, it is the president who appoints the premier, though with no parliament majority now the DPP will have to work with the opposition to get its legislative agenda passed.
Han Kuo-yu, from the largest opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) and who badly lost the presidential election to the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen in 2020, won the election for the speakership.
One of the speaker’s most important roles is hosting the many foreign lawmakers who visit Taiwan, such as then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022, a trip that so angered China it launched war games around the island after she left.
During the election campaign Lai had said if Han became speaker he would lead KMT mayors to visit China and meet Chinese officials. The DPP also ran a television advertisement accusing Han of being pro-China.
Speaking to reporters after being sworn in and asked if was planning to visit China, Han said Lai should “not be overly nervous”.
“President (elect) Lai Ching-te doesn’t need to be too concerned,” Han said, without directly answering if he planned to go to China.
Lai takes office on May 20.
Han visited the Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong in 2019 before his candidacy was announced.
He also visited mainland China that year where he met with senior Chinese officials and reiterated his commitment to the position that both Taiwan and China belong to “one China”.
“It’s very possible he meets someone from the United Front Work Department or the People’s Liberation Army,” DPP lawmaker Puma Shen told Reuters, referring to the Chinese Communist Party body charged with spreading its influence and propaganda overseas.
A small group of protesters demonstrated outside parliament against Han becoming speaker.
The KMT traditionally favours close ties with China but strongly denies being pro-Beijing. It says DPP accusations are malicious and unfair smears.
Colloquially known as “Korean fish” in a play on the pronunciation of his name, Han was also the mayor of the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung before being removed in a re-call vote in 2020 after he lost the presidential election.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Ros Russell and Kim Coghill)
