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President Lai: Beidaihe Meeting Issued
Four Secret Orders on Taiwan
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President Lai Ching-te claims Beidaihe issued four secret orders on Taiwan, raising doubts he is hyping Chinese Communist election interference and manufacturing a sense of national doom. |
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Politics Influences Intelligence: President Lai Commits National Security Taboo
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) recently traveled south to Kaohsiung to hold a mobile meeting of its Central Standing Committee. Speaking off script at the meeting, President Lai Ching-te claimed that the Chinese Communist Party’s Beidaihe gathering had issued extremely stringent directives regarding Taiwan in four areas: opposing the passage of Taiwan’s defense budget, strengthening China’s “substantive governance” over Taiwan, cultivating a “fifth column” to promote unification, and instructing “forces in Taiwan” to support “Chinese patriotic forces” in the upcoming local elections. President Lai said that Kaohsiung was under tremendous pressure and that the election outcome would determine Taiwan’s future. “We absolutely must win,” he declared.
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The Legislative Yuan passes the 2026 central government general budget, but Premier Cho Jung-tai offered no thanks. The Lai administration blocked two more laws, drawing criticism from trampling the constitutional order. |
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Premier Cho Weaponizes NO Countersign, Creating Self-Styled Veto Power
The Legislative Yuan has passed the central government’s general budget, yet Premier Cho Jung-tai broke with constitutional convention by neither appearing before the legislature to express his appreciation nor offering thanks. More than that, he once again refused to countersign two pieces of legislation, including a law establishing future accounts for children and young people, effectively blocking them. He also lashed out at Speaker Han Kuo-yu of the Legislative Yuan, with President Lai Ching-te joining the fray. The arrogance of the Lai-Cho administration and its trampling of democratic constitutional norms are unprecedented.
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The Lai administration seizes credit for military pay credit, but critics say the policy calculus still prioritizes electoral considerations. |
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President Lai’s Military Pay Raise Motivated by Political Ends
Today, an editorial in the United Daily News once again called attention to the crisis caused by the low manning rate of Taiwan’s armed forces, stressing that improving military compensation is a basic prerequisite for addressing the problem. Coincidentally, this afternoon President Lai Ching-te once again followed the same approach as last year, using a troop inspection as an opportunity to announce new benefits, retroactive by one month. Effective July 1, a new “Category III Combat Unit Allowance” will provide an additional NT$4,000 (about US$124) per month to personnel serving in units at the brigade level and below that sustain combat operations. More importantly, conscripts serving in combat units will receive the same combat allowance as volunteer service members.
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Japan’s Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi visits the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Class-A criminals from the Second World War. South Korea protested, while Taiwan expressed “respect,” stirring controversy. |
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August 16:
On the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II, Japan’s Minister of Defense Koizumi Shinjiro and senior Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) officials visited Yasukuni Shrine. South Korea lodged strong protests, while Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed respect, sparking public criticism. |
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August 17:
President Lai Ching-te announced that to ensure AI dividends are shared with all citizens, a budget increase will be allocated next year to distribute NT$10,000 (about US$310) in cash to each person. The move is interpreted as being aimed at supporting President Lai’s 2028 re-election bid. |
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August 17:
The Executive Yuan announced that it would not countersign amendments to the Child and Youth Future Accounts Act and the Broadcasting and Television Act. This marks the fourth time that the Lai administration has refused to countersign laws passed by the Legislative Yuan, totaling seven cases. Speaker Han Kuo-yu questioned when not countersigning had become an exercise of veto power. |
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August 18:
The Xiamen municipal government in Fujian Province released 12 measures to promote cross-strait exchanges, aiming to open the Xiamen section of the Kinmen-Xiamen bridge by year-end and study plans for the Kinmen section. The Mainland Affairs Council stated that cross-strait public works cannot be unilaterally decided by Beijing, and Taiwan has no related project plans.
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August 19:
At Jioupeng Base, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology conducted its first satellite launch vehicle test. The rocket veered off course and crashed into the mountains. No casualties occurred, but it fell only 1 to 2 kilometers from an indigenous village, prompting resident protests. |
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August 19:
President Lai announced that starting in July, an additional NT$4,000 (about US$125) allowance will be granted to third-category combat units, including medical corps for battle injuries, chemical units, engineers, military police, and troops guarding critical infrastructure. Conscripts will also receive the same allowance. |
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August 19:
Minister of Labor Hung Shen-han expressed intent to attend the International Skills Competition in Shanghai in late September to cheer for Taiwan’s delegation. The Taiwan Affairs Office of mainland China’s State Council stated that the event would be handled under the “One China” principle. |
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August 20:
The Executive Yuan finalized the central government budget for 2027, with national defense spending reaching NT$1.1 trillion (about US$35.2 billion), accounting for 3.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Ten arms procurement projects, including domestically produced Strong Bow missiles and unmanned vehicles which were not included in two special defense statutes, will instead be listed in the supplementary budget this year.
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