Ma made promies to TSU chair

This detail of Lai's appointment had escaped me:

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) chairman yesterday vowed he would request Mainland Affairs Council chairwoman-designate Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) withdraw from her position if the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration fails to uphold the basic principles it promised to the party when dealing with cross-strait relations.

“As a responsible opposition party, we will continue to monitor the performance of the KMT government closely,” said TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝).

Huang said president-elect Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) visited him on Sunday night to ask for his approval of Lai’s appointment. Huang said they talked for about an hour and he laid down three principles for cross-strait policy, which Ma agreed with.

The KMT government must promise to safeguard national dignity, take care of the interest of the Taiwanese people and manifest Taiwan-centered consciousness, Huang said.

Michael Turton at The View from Taiwan, among others, believe Lai Shin-yuan's (賴幸媛) appointment means the MAC will become redundant and powerless. I hope he's wrong, but see no reason the KMT would prefer an open channel to backroom deals.