April 12:
The Investigation Bureau, Ministry of Justice, uncovered a spy case involving the Office of the President, tracing it to Ho Jen-chie, a former aide to National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ho was recruited as a Chinese Communist spy and detained after interrogation. Opposition parties demanded that Wu take political responsibility and urged the Taipei District Prosecutors Office to summon him.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has faced a series of espionage scandals, including incidents involving the offices of former Speaker You Si-kun, President Lai Ching-te, and DPP headquarters, indicating widespread infiltration.
April 13:
According to an exclusive report by the United Daily News, during the ongoing Han Kuang Exercise No. 41, retired U.S. Army General Robert Abrams, former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, served as a senior observer. Uniquely, Abrams acted as an "advisor" to Taiwan's Chief of the General Staff Mei Chia-shu, marking the first time such collaboration occurred under the Joint Chiefs of Staff framework. This suggests that Taiwan and the United States are exploring future joint combat models and testing wartime coordination possibilities.
April 14:
American tariff policies impacted investor confidence, leading to a drop in Taiwan's stock market volume and prices. Securities transaction tax revenue in March fell by 24.6 percent, marking the largest decline in 26 months. Tax revenue in March totaled NT$232.4 billion (about US$7.1 billion), a 2.8 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.
April 14:
President Lai proposed the narrative of decoupling from China and joining the Global North. The Ministry of Education swiftly decided to incorporate this into educational ideology. Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao stated that Taiwan and China are separate nations, emphasizing the need for clarity. This summer, textbooks addressing China's threats and international dynamics will be completed to prevent misinformation. Opposition lawmakers criticized Minister Cheng's "one country on each side" remark as unconstitutional and argued that the new content would increase tensions and lead to conflict.
April 15:
Rumors circulated that U.S. President Donald Trump might compel foreign creditors to convert their U.S. debt holdings into ultra-long-term bonds to alleviate the country's debt burden. Governor Yang Chin-long of the Central Bank stated in the Legislative Yuan that such a move would equate to default, potentially causing financial chaos and crisis in the United States. Premier Cho Jung-tai, when asked about expanding U.S. debt holdings, did not deny the possibility and stated that internal preparations were underway with various options considered.
April 17:
Prosecutors investigated ghost signatures in recall petitions against DPP legislators, charging individuals with forgery and conducting large-scale interrogations. Bail amounts for individuals involved were significantly higher than those in the DPP espionage cases. Prosecutors also searched multiple Kuomintang (KMT) local offices but took no action regarding reports of recall petitions against KMT legislators. The KMT accused the government of judicial abuse to suppress recall initiators, calling it "green terror" and judicial persecution.
April 17:
Dissatisfied with searches of the KMT's Taipei branch over recall petitions, Chairman Eric Chu organized a sit-in protest at the Taipei District Prosecutors Office. Mayor Chiang Wan-an supported the protest and proposed a no-confidence motion. If President Lai dissolves the Legislative Yuan, then re-election of legislators could serve as a vote of no confidence against President Lai. Chairman Huang Kuo-chang of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) suggested simultaneous re-elections for the president and Legislative Yuan to avoid giving the DPP an opportunity to overturn election results.
April 17:
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) held its first quarter investor conference, addressing high production costs at overseas plants and expanded U.S. investments, which were calculated to erode gross margins by 2 percent to 4 percent. Chairman C. C. Wei announced plans to scale up production to counteract this. He denied rumors of joint ventures or technology licensing with other companies, including intel. TSMC's advanced manufacturing below 2nm at its Arizona plant will account for 30 percent of production. This marked TSMC's first response to U.S. reciprocal tariff policies.
