Taiwan President Lai Ching-te posted on social media on Thursday, saying that after the sudden declaration of martial law in South Korea, he immediately instructed Taiwan's national security team to maintain communication with democratic allies, understand various possibilities, and analyze potential impacts to be prepared in advance.
On the morning of the 5th, Lai Ching-te wrote on Facebook that on the night of the 4th, he held a video conference with the national security team in Guam, assuring Taiwanese citizens that the government teams have a full grasp of national security affairs and sudden regional situations.
Discussing the sudden declaration of martial law in South Korea, Lai Ching-te said that due to the close relationship between South Korea and Taiwan and the geopolitical uniqueness of the Korean Peninsula, upon receiving a complete report for the first time, he immediately instructed the national security team to maintain communication with democratic allies, understand various possibilities, and analyze potential impacts to be prepared in advance.
Lai Ching-te emphasized that while he is leading the delegation in Guam and Palau for diplomatic efforts, the national security team and various government departments will properly divide work, gather information, and appropriately manage national security situations.
The United Daily News reported that Lai Ching-te held a virtual meeting with the national security team for about 40 minutes in Guam. The Presidential Office in Taipei said that participants included National Security Council Secretary-General Wu Jaushieh, Minister of National Defense Kuo Li-Hsiung, National Security Council Consultant Huang Chungyan, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-Yen, and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-Generals Hsu Szu-Jien and Liu Tejin. Also attending were Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Meng-An, Foreign Minister Lin Chialong, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary General Chang Tun-Han, Presidential Office Director Chen Yi-Ling, and Presidential Office Spokesperson Kuo Yah-hui, accompanying Lai on his visit.
According to reports by the Liberty Times and China Times, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol unexpectedly issued an emergency martial law order on the evening of the 3rd, the Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus posted on social media platform Threads that the South Korean parliament was manipulated by pro-North Korean forces, and Yoon Suk Yeol announced martial law nationwide to protect the free constitutional system.
The post also compared the situation of the South Korean parliament to Taiwan's Legislative Yuan opposition camps, accusing the “blue and white” camps of cutting the defense budget, unconstitutional expansion of power, and paralyzing justices, while stating that the Democratic Progressive Party is resisting world-level dark forces eroding the country “every minute, every second, constantly.”
Currently, the post has been deleted. The Kuomintang posted on Facebook on Wednesday, accusing the Democratic Progressive Party caucus of opportunistically smearing the normal supervision of the Legislative Yuan, using legislative partisan struggle as an excuse to support martial law.
The Kuomintang also urged the Democratic Progressive Party not to use the hardships of South Korean democracy as an excuse for instigating martial law and believed Lai Ching-te should apologize to the Taiwanese public immediately.
On Wednesday, Lai Ching-te stated on Facebook about the martial law issue, saying that Taiwan's democracy was hard-won, and that democracy and freedom are not only mutual values and ideals with friends around the world but also a way of life cherished and protected by every generation. “We have always walked the road of democracy, not only to unite each other with democracy but also to make democracy more sustainable.”