China-friendly KMT stunts Taiwan’s attempt to grow into a fully formed hedgehog

(David Axe – ASPI The Strategist) Perhaps the strongest sign that Taiwan was on the verge of a strategic breakthrough came in early May, when the Taiwanese legislature, led by the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), passed a pared-down version of the special military budget championed by President Lai Ching-te. After all, detente with China, or soft surrender if you’re being less generous, is a central plank in the KMT’s platform. Its passing a special military budget seems remarkable at first glance. But in shrinking the special budget to just $25 billion from the proposed $40 billion, the KMT under chair Cheng Li-wun eliminated all the most important spending. This was the spending that would help Taiwan grow into an ‘indigestible hedgehog’ – that is, prey too prickly for a larger predator to easily consume. – China-friendly KMT stunts Taiwan’s attempt to grow into a fully formed hedgehog | The Strategist