False: Image of Taiwan KMT leader at ‘1949’ monument in Nanjing is AI-made
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Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party chairperson Cheng Li-wun arrived in mainland China on April 7 for a week-long visit, following an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Her historic visit, the first by a sitting KMT chair since Hung Hsiu-chu’s trip in 2016, made headlines around the world, and photos and videos of her trip flooded social media, including some that were misleading or outright fabricated.
Among the misleading content was an image (for example, here, here, and here) that appears to show Cheng smiling and flashing a V-sign with the palm inward at politically sensitive sites in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China until 1949 when the KMT lost the civil war to the Communist Party and retreated to Taiwan.
This image quickly gained popularity online and many social media users appeared to believe it was a real news photo.
As Cheng is posing in front of a monument that refernces KMT’s 1949 defeat, some users described her as foolish, ill-intentioned, or even a spy. Another user modified a well-known meme to place Cheng posing at a grave instead of the monument, presumably mocking her attitude.
Annie Lab looked into the image and can confirm that it was created with an AI tool by Google.
Outfit
Official photos released by the KMT show Cheng wearing a brown pantsuit, not the grey-blue, half-sleeve jacket seen in the viral image, during her visit to the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of KMT and modern China, in Nanjing on April 8.
Google’s image search detected SynthID watermark in the viral image, which indicates that it was generated using a Google’s AI tool.
SynthID watermarks are embedded into all content made or modified using the company’s AI tools, although they are imperceptible to the human eye.
Further investigation revealed that the AI image was likely generated with a news photo in October 2025 after she was elected party chair.
We found a press conference footage showing her wearing the same grey-blue outfit and distinctive beaded bracelet seen in the digitally created image.
She was also seen wearing the same light grey-blue jacket in March during a press event announcing her trip to mainland China, but her bracelet was in a different shape and color.
Location
In the AI image, Cheng appears to stand next to a stele inscribed with “Republic of China 1912-1949 CE.” While the monument exists for real, it is located about two kilometers away from the sacrificial hall at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum that Cheng was confirmed to have visited.
Annie Lab reviewed news coverage, including live broadcasting of her visit, and found no evidence that she visited the stele site.
Moreover, the inscription is engraved high above ground level, making it physically impossible for a person to pose next to it without assistance.
MyGoPen and Taiwan FactCheck Center, two Taiwanese fact-checking outlets, also looked into the AI image and concluded that it was fabricated.
