May 25: The Legislative Yuan reviewed reform bills and saw intense physical conflicts between political parties. Large crowds gathered outside the Legislative Yuan to protest the proposed changes.
President Lai Ching-te posted on Facebook to express gratitude to the protesters, praising their commitment to Taiwan's democratic values. However, opposition parties criticized his move as challenging the parliament and disregarding mainstream public opinion.
May 26: During a speech at the United States Military Academy, West Point, President Joe Biden affirmed the commitment of the United States to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He stated that the U.S. is willing to use force if necessary to defend its interests.
In a recent fundraising event, former U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that he would bomb Moscow and Beijing if Russia invaded Ukraine during his term or if China invaded Taiwan.
May 27: A recent poll by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF) revealed that 84.6 percent oppose abolishing the death penalty, while only 10 percent support it. Some 69.5 percent said they would not accept it. According to TPOF, people in Taiwan remain firmly opposed to abolishing the death penalty. If the Constitutional Court were to declare the death penalty unconstitutional, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would face immeasurable political consequences.
May 28: The Legislative Yuan passed legislative reform legislation in its third reading. Changes include normalizing the president's annual State of the Nation report, introducing penalties for contempt of parliament, strengthening legislative consent for political appointments, and granting the Legislative Yuan investigative and hearing powers.
The Executive Yuan expressed its intention to put a request for reconsideration, while the DPP caucus of the Legislative Yuan announced plans to seek judicial review. President Lai expressed support for these plans.
May 28: Wang Yi-chuan, director of the policy department of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), publicly stated on a political talk show that analysis of mobile phone location signals shows that those who participated in demonstrations outside the Legislative Yuan, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) assembly on May 19, and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential campaign rallies are different groups of people. Opposition parties criticized the DPP's using state apparatus to infringe on the people's privacy, like a "Big Brother monitoring every citizen." The Taipei District Prosecutors Office is investigating the matter.
May 30: The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), Executive Yuan, updated its economic forecast, revising the annual economic growth rate to 3.94 percent, the highest in nearly three years. The adjustment represents a significant increase of 0.51 percentage points from the end of February. Director-General Chen Shu-zi mentioned that the current economic situation is gradually improving but has not reached a robust level yet.
May 30: Hopes of travel companies that group tours to mainland China would be lifted starting in June were dashed. However, the Executive Yuan relaxed restrictions on pre-planned travel groups, allowing them to continue operations. Meanwhile, the pilot Fuzhou-Matsu tourism program initiated by the mainland and originally planned to commence on June 10, will be delayed, casting a shadow over cross-strait group tours.
May 31: Mainland China's Ministry of Finance announced that starting from June 15, it will suspend the application of tariff reductions under the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) for 134 imported products from Taiwan. These products cover areas such as petrochemicals, textiles, automotive components, and machinery tools. The Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of the mainland's State Council stated that the fundamental reason for further suspending tariff reductions on some ECFA products is the "stubborn insistence on Taiwan independence" by the Lai authorities. According to the TAO, the pursuit of Taiwan independence will only undermine peace and development.
