Cheng Li-wun rebuffs Chiang Wan-an's call to abolish Control Yuan

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Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an's proposal to abolish the Control Yuan sparked a rare public rift within the KMT, with party chair Cheng Li-wun quickly shooting it down by citing the near-impossible constitutional amendment threshold. Chiang's real motivation appeared to be political cover — framing abolition as a principled basis for blocking President Lai Ching-te's 29 Control Yuan nominees rather than appearing purely obstructionist.

What Happened

On June 12, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an called for abolishing the Control Yuan, arguing the institution had failed to perform meaningful oversight, and suggested rejecting all 29 nominees submitted by President Lai Ching-te to freeze the Control Yuan's operations.
On June 22, KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun, flatly stated that "constitutional amendment is nearly impossible" and that abolishing the Control Yuan "will not be a priority issue the KMT pursues now."

Green-Leaning Coverage

Green camp coverage framed the story around Cheng Li-wun "slapping down" or "rebuking" Chiang Wan-an, emphasizing the political spectacle of a party chair publicly contradicting a prominent municipal leader from the same party.
Coverage highlighted the internal contradiction that Chiang claimed to have already briefed five Taipei-based KMT legislators, creating a contrast between apparent local-level support and central party-level rejection.

Neutral Coverage

No neutral sources covered this event.

Blue-Leaning Coverage

Opposition figures had accused Lai's nominee list of being politically motivated or amounting to patronage appointments, providing a rationale for why Chiang's proposal gained initial traction within the pan-blue camp.
Calls to abolish the Control Yuan have come from all three major parties over the years but have always stalled at the constitutional amendment threshold, framing this episode as a recurring pattern rather than a novel confrontation.

Key Terms

Control Yuan (監察院): One of Taiwan's five constitutionally mandated government branches under the Sun Yat-sen framework, responsible for investigating, impeaching, and auditing government officials. Its members are nominated by the president (currently from DPP) and confirmed by the legislature (KMT-TPP majority) for six-year terms; proposals to abolish it have recurred across Taiwan's political history but have never advanced to a formal amendment process.
Constitutional Amendment (修憲): The procedure for revising the Republic of China Constitution, requiring a three-quarters attendance quorum in the legislature and a three-quarters approval vote, followed by a public referendum. Taiwan has not successfully completed a substantive constitutional amendment since 2005, making any proposal to restructure or eliminate a branch of government — particularly one embedded in the five-power framework — effectively prohibitive under current political conditions.
Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文): Elected KMT chair in 2025, one of the few women to lead a major Taiwanese political party. She is one of the Taiwan's main opposition leaders and a polarizing figure who visited Beijing in April 2026 on a self-described peace mission — the first trip by a sitting KMT chair in nearly a decade, where she met Xi Jinping and reaffirmed the 1992 Consensus.
Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安): KMT mayor of Taipei since 2022 and a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek. He is the youngest mayor in the city's history and is considered a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek; he currently dominates polling for the November 2026 Taipei mayoral re-election race, holding commanding double-digit leads over all potential DPP