KMT, TPP decline to attend Lais security briefing

• By Lin Che-yuan, Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday each declined to attend President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed national security briefing today.

Lai in his inauguration anniversary address on May 20 proposed holding the briefing.

The TPP yesterday morning said in a statement that Huang would not be attending, calling the meeting hasty and rash, and that it reeked of political manipulation.

The party said it initially welcomed the invitation for a sincere exchange of opinions on national affairs, but added that it had not received any update on the meeting from the Presidential Office for more than two weeks.

When the TPP received a notification of the meeting, it learned that the meeting would be limited to a briefing on national security affairs, which the party said was not what the president promised.

The Presidential Office did not adequately communicate with the TPP over the meeting, while much of the information it received about the briefing was through the media, it said.

Discussions of national security affairs or classified information should observe the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), and should not be held at the will of one person above the law, the party said.

The TPP also urged Lai to remove National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), alleging that he was a national security liability, after his former aide while foreign affairs minister, Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑), was charged with spying for China.

Yesterday afternoon, Chu also announced he would not attend the briefing, but added that he hopes the secretaries-general of the KMT and the TPP would continue to work with the Presidential Office on the possibility of similar events.

The KMT has always sought dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties, Chu said, adding that such talks should be geared toward the resolution of problems faced by Taiwanese.

The KMT believes the ruling and opposition parties need not have an adversarial relationship, he said.

Lai is the critical link to realizing that goal, he said, urging the president to improve relations between the parties.

Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said that the office thanked the KMT for its efforts and willingness to continue talks, and that the office would strive to create a platform for dialogue.

Additional reporting by Chen Yun