President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) called on Legislative Speaker Han Kou-yu (韓國瑜) to act with greater understanding, after the speaker refused to speak out against China issuing an international arrest warrant against Taiwanese Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋). Lai said party divides shouldn’t get in the way of defending the national sovereignty and dignity of Taiwan’s people, or governing bodies, and that Taiwanese members shouldn’t make excuses for “aggressors."

On Sunday, November 9, Chinese state media threatened to leverage Interpol and cross-border cooperation to arrest DPP legislator Puma Shen, supposedly for “separatist activity”. While Interpol has since stated that it will not allow China to put out a “red notice” on Shen due to the political motivations behind the request, Lai asked the legislative speaker to use his position to lead cross-party support for Shen.

Han, however, replied with a sarcastic comment, accusing the president of “making others take medicine, while [Lai] is the sick one”. Han continued that if the President actually wanted to help the legislature, he would restore the “four pillars of Taiwanese security”: protecting the ROC, protecting democracy and freedom, maintaining U.S.-Taiwan relations, and cross-strait peace.

Speaking on the issue Monday, Lai said that he hopes Han can understand that any cross-border repression, no matter where or against whom, is an infringement on the sovereignty and rights of the whole of Taiwan. The issue is not about exploiting Shen’s situation for political gain, but that the governing body in which Shen serves cannot remain silent on the issue, as repression against even one legislator is tantamount to repression of Taiwan’s constitutional system.

As for Han’s comments on the four pillars of Taiwan’s security, Lai said it was China, not the DPP, that has undermined those same pillars over the last four years. He said through verbal and military intimidation, united front work, and domestic infiltration, China has continually sought to undermine cross-strait stability and sow discord between Taiwan and the United States.

In the face of such attacks and suppression efforts from foreign actors, Taiwanese should be banding together, not finding excuses for the aggressors. The president urged Han to think twice, acknowledging that while inter-party competition is inevitable, all parties work towards the betterment of Taiwan.