April 20:
The Mainland Affairs Council announced that security thresholds for Hong Kong and Macau residents seeking to stay in Taiwan will be raised. Minister Chiu Chui-cheng stated that the situation in Hong Kong is constantly evolving, with China's deliberate efforts to alter demographics through "population replacement" having a significant impact. Moving forward, a "long-term residency" system will be designed, the review periods for "residency" and "registered permanent residency" will be extended, and a national security observation period will be added to ensure proper management of population flows.
April 21:
Following a series of espionage scandals involving the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, the Legislative Yuan's Judiciary and Organic Laws Committee arranged a special report, "Review of Espionage Infiltration." Director-General Chen Pai-li of the Investigation Bureau, Ministry of Justice, confirmed during interpellation that Ho Jen-chie, former aide to then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu, underwent security assessments during his initial appointment but not during subsequent transfers. Wu Shang-yu, staff consultant of the Office of the President, did not undergo security assessments either. Secretary-General Joseph Wu of the National Security Council neither took leave nor attended the session, leading the opposition to pass a motion of censure.
April 22:
In the opposition leaders' summit, Chairman Eric Chu of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Chairman Huang Kuo-chang of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) reached three points of consensus: work together to boost the economy; reject "green terror" and defend justice; and oppose authoritarianism, including both "red communism" and "green communism." The two parties will collaborate to establish a "civil platform" to assess the impact of United States tariff policies, involving local governments, scholars and experts, as well as labor representatives, to produce a civilian version of the tariff impact assessment.
April 22:
The Executive Yuan repeatedly claimed that the central government this year had been significantly cut and frozen, causing administrative difficulties. However, it delayed submitting an unfreeze proposal to the Legislative Yuan, leading the opposition to accuse the Executive Yuan of withholding the report to facilitate mass recalls. Premier Cho Jung-tai finally relented, ordering all ministries to submit unfrozen proposals totaling NT$138.1 billion (about US$4.2 billion) to seek resolution as quickly as possible.
April 23:
Pope Francis passed away, raising questions about whether President Lai Ching-te would follow precedent and personally attend the funeral. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it was making every effort to negotiate for the president's attendance but acknowledged the Vatican's international relations considerations. Ultimately, former Vice President Chen Chien-jen, who no longer holds political office, was appointed as the president's special envoy.
The Holy See is currently Taiwan's only diplomatic ally in Europe. In 2005, when Pope John Paul II passed away, and in 2013 during Pope Francis's inauguration, the president personally attended both events.
April 23:
The Mainland Affairs Council issued a new interpretation, expanding the definition of "registered residency" in mainland China. In addition to holding a resident identity card, the new regulations stipulate that even possessing a residence permit would violate the law, resulting in the loss of Taiwanese identity. This further restricts Taiwanese nationals from holding mainland residence permits. Scholars have questioned the reasonableness of the MAC's unilateral expansion of legal applicability.
April 24:
In response to the impact of U.S. reciprocal tariffs, Premier Cho Jung-tai approved an industrial support plan worth NT$88 billion (about US$2.6 billion) on April 21. However, the Executive Yuan also finalized a draft of the "Special Act to Strengthen Economic, Social, and Homeland Security Resilience in Response to International Situations," allocating a budget of NT$410 billion (about US$12.5 billion) in one go. This includes NT$100 billion (about US$3 billion) to subsidize the Taiwan Power Company. The opposition questioned that 60 percent of the budget is unrelated to tariffs, accusing the Lai administration of using tariffs as a pretext to reintroduce previously rejected budget items.
April 26:
The Kuomintang (KMT) held an "Anti-DPP Communism, Fight Dictatorship" rally at Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei and claimed attendance by 250,000 people. Chairman Eric Chu harshly criticized President Lai for conducting a "Cultural Revolution" in Taiwan, labeling young DPP supporters as "Green Red Guards “aiming to eliminate all opposition. Chu declared that the people would never allow a dictator to bring Taiwan into its darkest democracy and announced plans to initiate a recall of President Lai starting from May 20, the anniversary of his inauguration. Chairman Huang Kuo-chang of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) also led party legislators in showing support.
