Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu leads cross-party delegation on US visit

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The back-to-back U.S. visits by senior Kuomintang figures within a single month—Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen, KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun, and Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu—laid bare the factional competition inside the KMT as it positions itself for the 2028 presidential race.

What Happened

Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu departed on June 21, leading a seven-member cross-party delegation (three KMT, three DPP, one TPP) on a seven-day U.S. visit through June 27.
The delegation's first stop was Phoenix, Arizona, where it toured TSMC's fab, held a roundtable with more than ten Taiwan-based supply-chain companies, and discussed workforce recruitment, construction costs, and visa issues.
On June 24, at a reception hosted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, Han met more than 33 bipartisan House and Senate members, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who attended and posed for photos.
On June 25, the delegation separately met White House and Pentagon officials; the U.S. side reaffirmed its Taiwan policy and exchanged views on co-production of unmanned systems, arms-sale delays, and cross-strait policy.
On June 26, Han, accompanied by Taiwan's Representative to the U.S. Alexander Yui, went to the Capitol for a one-on-one with House Speaker Mike Johnson, the third-ranking official in the federal government of the United States, requesting his continued support for the US-Taiwan Expedited Double Taxation Relief Act. It was the first meeting between Taiwan's speaker and a sitting House speaker since Pelosi's 2022 Taipei visit.
Over the full trip, Han met a total of more than 40 bipartisan U.S. lawmakers, including seven members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in closed-door session.
On June 27, the delegation flew home on EVA Air's inaugural Washington–Taoyuan nonstop flight; Han declared all four stated objectives achieved upon landing at Taoyuan International Airport.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen dispatched Deputy Mayor Cheng Chao-hsin to the airport to see the delegation off, a gesture widely read as signaling a nascent Han–Lu political alliance ahead of 2028.

Green-Leaning Coverage

Green camp outlets used phrases such as 'blew Cheng out of the water' and 'first-day knockout' to describe Han's results against Cheng Li-wun's trip, citing reports that Cheng received only desk-level State Department officials while Han reached the third-ranking official in the federal government.
DPP legislator Lin Chu-yin attributed the higher reception level to Han's prior support for defense procurement.
DPP caucus whip Chuang Jui-hsiung publicly disclosed that Han had told him privately: 'Brother, America is inviting me at a very high level,' describing Han as 'the most clear-headed figure in the Blue camp' on defense.
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung stated that the American invitation was partly intended to wash away the impression left by Cheng's visit—that Taiwan endorsed a one-China framework—and to present Taiwan's mainstream opinion to U.S. audiences.
DPP legislator Wu Szu-yao argued that Cheng's pro-Beijing orientation had actually elevated the U.S. reception standard for Han by contrast.
Political commentator Wu Ching-yi praised Han's Washington performance but immediately criticized him after his return for omitting any mention of the stalled domestic drone legislation despite having discussed drone co-production extensively with U.S. officials, labeling it 'diplomatic amnesia.'
Green outlets reported that some KMT insiders privately admitted Cheng's trip had created a net negative, with colleagues distancing themselves from her.
Reports framed the decision by Lu Shiow-yen to send her deputy to the airport as evidence of a Han–Lu alliance solidifying ahead of 2028, further marginalizing Cheng within the party.

Neutral Coverage

Neutral outlets confirmed the trip's origin: the U.S. invitation was linked to Han's role in brokering KMT consensus on the National Defense Special Budget Act, with AIT formally extending the invitation when Han attended AIT's Fourth of July reception.
Former legislator, the first Taiwanese-born premier of the Republic of China and former vice-chairman of the Kuomintang Vincent Siew (Hsu Yu-jen) assessed that the visit's significance exceeded routine legislative exchanges, arguing it reflected Washington's conclusion that Taiwan's security could not rely solely on the executive branch and that a direct legislative-to-legislative trust channel was necessary.
During the Pelosi reception, Republican congressman Tom Tiffany was quoted expressing hope that President Lai Ching-te would be able to visit the United States.
Academic Shih Cheng-feng (National Dong Hwa University) rated Han's performance positively on a television program, noting that Han 'is not a fool' and adding that his English was better than President Lai Ching-te's.
Neutral outlets also carried the criticism that Han's homecoming remarks omitted drone legislation despite prominent Washington discussions of unmanned-systems co-production, and separately reported the KMT allegation that during meetings with American counterparts DPP legislators had 'told tales to the Americans' about the KMT blocking arms purchases.

Blue-Leaning Coverage

Former legislator Julian Kuo (Kuo Cheng-liang) repeatedly appeared on programs to frame Cheng Li-wun's earlier trip as having 'opened a new lane' and Han's visit as its logical high-value follow-on, predicting the delegation would reach the assistant secretary level—a prediction that ultimately proved conservative.
Senior media commentator Chen Feng-hsin argued that AIT had made two significant misjudgments—over-estimating DPP gains in the recall elections and misreading Cheng's mainland China visit—which prompted Washington to recalibrate by dealing directly with the Legislative Yuan.
U.S.-based professor Weng Lu-chung described Han's meetings as the most important signal being that Washington supports U.S. interests, not any particular Taiwan party, calling the visit evidence that Washington is now actively cultivating the Legislative Yuan as a separate channel of communication with Taiwan's administration.
KMT communications director Chen Yi-hsin rejected comparisons between Han and Cheng, calling them 'apples and oranges' with different roles and mandates, and reframed consecutive high-level U.S. receptions of KMT figures as evidence that Washington considers a KMT return to executive power in 2028 a realistic prospect worth engaging.
The KMT issued a statement saying the high-level reception reflected U.S. desire to deepen understanding of KMT policy positions on Taiwan-U.S. relations and regional security.
KMT legislator Lai Shih-bao disclosed that in closed Senate sessions he raised three issues: urging passage of the US-Taiwan Expedited Double Taxation Relief Act, accelerating arms approvals, and demanding delivery of delayed weapons systems.
Blue outlets reported TPP legislator Hung Yu-hsiang's disclosure that U.S. officials explained the reasons for arms-sale delays during the Pentagon meeting.
Following return, blue outlets carried the KMT's accusation that the DPP had 'tattled to Americans' about KMT obstruction of defense legislation, framing the DPP's conduct as damaging to Taiwan-U.S. relations.

Key Terms

Special Defense Budget Act (強化防衛韌性及不對稱戰力計畫採購特別條例): A supplemental, off-budget appropriation proposed by the Executive Yuan in November 2025 to fund asymmetric defense capabilities over roughly eight years, alongside the regular annual defense budget. President Lai's administration sought NT$1.25 trillion (~US$40 billion), framing it as essential to deterrence and drone-industry development; the proposal stalled repeatedly in the KMT-TPP-controlled Legislative Yuan before passing in pared-down form on May 8, 2026 at NT$780 billion. KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun championed the most restrictive position (initially NT$380 billion with possibilities for some extensions), arguing for accommodation with Beijing and against giving what she called a "blank check" for the U.S., while Taichung Mayor and very likely 2028 presidential contender Lu Shiow-yen broke publicly with the party line, touring the US in March 2026 to advocate a NT$800 billion–1 trillion package. Other KMT figures including former chairman Eric Chu and legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin proposed NT$900 billion and NT$800 billion respectively, intensifying intraparty conflict. Legislative Speaker, KMT's Han Kuo-yu positioned himself as a neutral broker between caucuses, ultimately announcing passage of the compromise NT$780 billion bill.
Taiwan-US Relations: The unofficial but substantive relationship between Taiwan and the United States, conducted without formal diplomatic recognition since 1979 and governed by the Taiwan Relations Act, with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) serving as the de facto embassy. The relationship centers on arms sales, semiconductor supply-chain cooperation (notably TSMC), and informal political engagement. Congressional figures and AIT officials have repeatedly pressed Taiwan's opposition-controlled legislature to fund the special defense budget at higher levels, with both KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun and Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen making separate, contrasting visits to Washington in 2026 to manage US perceptions of the KMT's reliability on defense.
Legislative Yuan (立法院): Taiwan's unicameral national legislature and one of the five constitutional branches of government, holding budgetary, lawmaking, and oversight authority. Since the 2024 elections it has been controlled by a joint KMT-TPP opposition majority against a DPP executive under President Lai Ching-te, producing a divided government in which Executive Yuan proposals — most notably the special defense budget — face sustained resistance and negotiation. The chamber is presided over by Speaker Han Kuo-yu of the KMT, who is constitutionally expected to act as a neutral arbiter between caucuses despite his party affiliation.
Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): KMT politician currently serving as Speaker of the Legislative Yuan. During the prolonged 2026 special defense budget standoff, Han worked to fulfill this arbitrating duty while also reassuring foreign delegations that negotiations were progressing, even as talks remained deadlocked; he ultimately announced the bill's passage on May 8, 2026. His perceived sympathy toward the higher-spending faction aligned with Eric Chu, Lu Shiow-yen, and Hsu Chiao-hsin drew criticism from the Vice Chairman Chi Lin-lien, who warned that Han could face expulsion if seen as "betraying the party" by backing the larger NT$800 billion figure. Previously a KMT presidential candidate (2020) and Kaohsiung mayor, Han remains a significant power broker within the party's internal factional balance.
Han–Lu Alliance (韓盧聯盟): A term used by Taiwan media and political observers to describe a potential partnership between Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu and Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen in positioning for the 2028 presidential election. Lu's decision to send her deputy mayor to the airport to see Han off at the start of his U.S. trip was widely read as a public signal of political alignment between the two KMT heavyweights, potentially against the KMT's Chair Cheng Li-wun.
US-Taiwan Expedited Double Taxation Relief Act: A bill under consideration in the U.S. Congress that would eliminate double taxation on individuals and businesses operating across the Taiwan-U.S. economic corridor, with the goal of reducing barriers to bilateral investment.