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KMT taking orders to stall bill from Beijing, DPP says

Taipei Times

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused opposition parties of taking orders from Beijing to stall Taiwan’s special defense budget.

A group of seven KMT Legislators, including Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) and Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) attended an event in Xiamen hosted by the Xiamen Taiwan Businessmen Association over the weekend, where they met officials from Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office. The subject of their discussions was not divulged, leading to grave concern.

“KMT legislators rushed to fly to China, even though there is still lots of important work in the legislature. When asked, they refused to discuss their trip to Xiamen. Are they reporting to Chinese officials, who are now in charge of the KMT?” DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) said.

Court changes ruled unconstitutional

Taipei Times

The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by the Legislative Yuan last year are unconstitutional, as they contravene due legislative process and separation of powers.

The Legislative Yuan on Dec. 20 last year passed amendments stipulating that no fewer than 10 grand justices must take part in deliberations of the Constitutional Court, and at least nine grand justices must agree to declare a law unconstitutional.

The Executive Yuan on Jan. 2 requested that lawmakers reconsider the bill, but the Legislative Yuan, under a combined majority of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators, rejected the motion.

US announces US$11.1bn arms sales to Taiwan

Taipei Times

Washington on Wednesday announced US$11.1 billion in potential arms sales to Taiwan, the largest-ever US weapons package to the nation.

It is the second announcement of arms sales to Taiwan by US President Donald Trump’s administration since he returned to the White House in January.

The proposed sales would cover eight items, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), howitzers, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Altius loitering munition drones and parts for other equipment, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.

Building a secure drone supply chain

Taipei Times Editorial

Taiwan’s cooperation with Poland highlights how drones, like semiconductors, are becoming strategic assets. Taiwan has a “central and eastern Europe supply chain resilience plan,” and is cooperating with Poland on drone production, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) published on Sunday.

Taiwan and Poland last week signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on developing a “non-China” supply chain for drones and to work together on key technologies. The agreement comes as Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as China’s growing assertiveness, underscores the strategic importance of secure and trusted defense supply chains.

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