Taiwan in political turmoil as China steps up military intimidation

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Taiwan descended into domestic political turmoil less than a week after new president Lai Ching-te took office, even as the country faced growing military pressure from China.

Tens of thousands of people, many of them young supporters of Lai’s Democratic Progressive party, on Friday protested against opposition efforts to ram through a sweeping expansion of parliament’s powers that would severely constrain the president’s administration.  

The confrontation came as China’s military conducted a second day of exercises around Taiwan that it has called “punishment” of Lai, a staunch defender of his country’s de facto independence.

Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and threatens to annex it with force if Taipei refuses indefinitely to submit to its control.

On Friday, the People’s Liberation Army sent fighters, bombers armed with live missiles, and naval ships into areas off Taiwan’s east coast.

Separately, China’s coast guard said it conducted law enforcement patrols east of Taiwan that included simulated ship inspections — an implicit warning that Beijing could try to force the country, which is highly dependent on energy and food imports, into submission with a blockade.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said 62 PLA aircraft and 27 naval ships operated around the island on Friday.

China closed down dialogue with Taiwan’s government and ramped up military intimidation after Lai’s predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, also from the DPP, took power in 2016. But it has reacted even more sharply to Lai’s inauguration, accusing him of “provocations” and “deceit”.

In his inaugural address on Monday, Lai urged his compatriots to “demonstrate our resolution to defend our nation [ . . . ] in face of the many threats and attempts of infiltration from China”.

All parties ought to “oppose annexation and protect sovereignty; and no one should entertain the idea of giving up our national sovereignty in exchange for political power”, he added.

But the parliamentary reform, which the DPP, legal scholars and many civic groups have decried as an unconstitutional power grab, has set the stage for bipartisan confrontation.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s party, which together can muster a majority in the legislature, passed most of the proposals in a marathon session on Friday, slowed only by constant procedural delays by the DPP. Voting is scheduled to continue on Tuesday.

The proposed changes make it an offence punishable with up to one year in prison for government officials to lie in parliamentary hearings and introduce heavy fines for those seen as not fully co-operating with lawmakers.

Opposition obstruction of the new administration had been expected, said Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taipei.

“But these changes have the potential to not just block Lai, but undo much of what has been done in the past eight years,” he said. “The worst-case scenario is that this turns into a witch hunt of any official [the opposition] wants to see gone.”

The changes expand parliament’s investigative powers allowing it to demand classified information from the military, a change that has raised concerns about intelligence leaks to China at a time when Taiwan is seeking to strengthen its defences. The amendments also allow for heavy fines on civil society groups, companies and individuals who do not satisfy lawmakers’ demands for testimony.

Nachman said the provisions forcing testimony by military officials could jeopardise key defence projects such as construction of Taiwan’s indigenously-built submarines.

The controversy has been heightened by the parliamentary majority’s decision to have the amendments voted on with little deliberation and with a simple shows of hands.

The hastened legislation “undermines Taiwan’s democratic foundations,” and violated “fundamental principles of democratic constitutionalism” the Taiwan Bar Association said.

While the DPP sees Taiwan as an independent country, the KMT defines it as part of a greater Chinese nation and believes Taipei should seek more dialogue with Beijing.

DPP lawmakers accused the opposition of colluding with the Chinese Communist party. Challenging the attempt to force disclosure of military documents, DPP lawmaker Kuo Po-wen asked KMT legislators: “Do you want to get hold of intelligence that you can then bring as gifts the next time you visit China?”

The opposition argues Taiwan’s political system gives the president too much power.

“In what country in the world is the executive not supervised by anyone?” said Wu Tsung-hsien, convener of the judiciary committee and main architect of the KMT’s proposals.