Opposition leaders leery of Lai's proposed national security meeting

Taipei, June 13 (CNA) The Presidential Office has officially invited opposition leaders to a national security briefing next week, but neither Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) nor his Taiwan People's Party (TPP) counterpart Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) has confirmed their participation.

Instead, speaking separately with local reporters on Friday, both leaders said they needed more information before deciding whether to attend.

"The information [we have] right now remains confusing and vague," Huang said at a news conference in Taipei, adding that he did not even know the agenda of the meeting or whether President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who also chairs the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), would attend in person.

He said that while the TPP had responded positively to Lai's proposal, made during a speech marking the first anniversary of his inauguration, he was now concerned whether such a meeting would be just a briefing from one side, rather than an exchange of views between different parties.

Chu expressed the same concern when he spoke with local media during a temple visit in Taipei.

The planned meeting "should not be a one-way lecture from the president" but rather a mutual discussion covering a range of national security issues, including defense, the economy and energy, Chu added.

He stressed that the KMT had always hoped that ruling and opposition parties could work together and solve their disputes through dialogue.

According to Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧), Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) called KMT and TPP representatives around midday Thursday to discuss the planning of the proposed national security briefing scheduled for June 18.

Kuo expressed hope that the opposition leaders would accept the invitation, noting that this would be the first time the Presidential Office holds a national security briefing specifically for the opposition.

The spokesperson, however, did not disclose what was discussed during Pan's phone calls or provide any specific details on the planning of the proposed briefing.

During his speech on May 20, Lai said he would instruct the national security team to "initiate a major national security briefing for the chairs of opposition parties."

He urged leaders across party lines to "prioritize our nation's interests and uphold our nation's security," noting that "grounded in shared facts, we can openly and honestly exchange views and discuss matters of national importance" and "tackle our nation's challenges side by side."