• He may have won the KMT’s leadership election, but the 48-year-old politician has only 14 months to resolve its financial and election woes
• If Chiang is to be anything more than a transitional leader he must win the public’s trust and re-establish strong ties with Beijing, observers say

South China Morning Post
Date: 15 Mar, 2020
By: .Lawrence Chung

After Johnny Chiang easy victory in his party’s leadership election, Taiwan is asking if he is the man to save the island’s century-old Kuomintang (KMT).

The 48-year-old, US-educated politician defeated his sole opponent – former party vice-chairman and Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin – in a poll that saw a record low voter turnout of less than 36 per cent.

Chiang has been in politics for just a decade and is largely unknown outside Taiwan. But the question now is whether he can save the troubled party, which suffered a humiliating defeat in 

January’s presidential and legislative elections, and is facing serious financial troubles and dwindling public support.    [FULL  STORY]