Civil Groups Call for 523 Street Protest, Support Executive Yuan to Propose Second National Defense Special Act
Civil society organizations in Taiwan are concerned that the National Defense Special Act passed by the Legislative Yuan will severely impact Taiwan's defense resilience and asymmetric warfare capabilities. They plan to hold a protest on May 23 calling for 'National Defense' and urging the Executive Yuan to propose a second draft of the special act.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 11, 2026 at 15:50
- 🔍 Collected: May 11, 2026 at 16:02 (11 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 11, 2026 at 19:39 (3h 37m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Wang Yang-Yu, Taipei, 11th) The Legislative Yuan passed the National Defense Special Act on its third reading on the 8th. Civil society organizations such as the Taiwan Citizen Front and the Taiwan Economic Democracy Union stated today that this will severely impact Taiwan's defense resilience and asymmetric warfare capability building. Therefore, they will take to the streets on the 23rd to protest for 'National Defense' and believe that the Executive Yuan should propose a second draft of the National Defense Special Act.
Under the numerical advantage of the KMT and TPP, the Legislative Yuan passed the National Defense Special Act on its third reading on the 8th, allocating an upper limit of NT$780 billion, but excluding commercial purchases and commissioned manufacturing projects. Public attention is focused on whether the Executive Yuan will propose another special act for items excluded from the military procurement act, such as drones.
The Taiwan Citizen Front, Taiwan Economic Democracy Union, Tibet-Taiwan Human Rights Link, and Taiwan Friends of Tibet and other civil society organizations held a press conference today in front of the Legislative Yuan's Qunxian Building, announcing that they will hold the 'True Peace, We Need Defense' 523 demonstration in Taipei City on the afternoon of the 23rd.
The participating organizations stated that the Executive Yuan's proposed draft special act for strengthening defense resilience and asymmetric warfare capability procurement, with an 8-year budget of NT$1.25 trillion, was significantly altered by the Legislative Yuan. Not only was the amount drastically cut, but five major important items were also deleted, severely impacting Taiwan's defense resilience and asymmetric warfare capability building.
Lai Chung-chiang, convener of the Economic Democracy Union's think tank, said that the think tank proposed the initiative 'Lai Government Should Propose a Second National Defense Special Act' on the 9th. Today, questionnaires and invitation letters were also sent to the offices of KMT and DPP legislators who intend to run for county magistrate or city mayor, hoping they would state their position on whether they support the Executive Yuan's proposal and the Legislative Yuan's passage of a 'Second National Defense Special Act Draft' to include the five military enhancement proposals previously excluded by the Legislative Yuan, including various types of drones, unmanned boats, and counter-systems. (Editor: Su Lung-chi) 20260511
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(Central News Agency reporter Wang Yang-Yu, Taipei, 11th) The Legislative Yuan passed the National Defense Special Act on its third reading on the 8th. Civil society organizations such as the Taiwan Citizen Front and the Taiwan Economic Democracy Union stated today that this will severely impact Taiwan's defense resilience and asymmetric warfare capability building. Therefore, they will take to the streets on the 23rd to protest for 'National Defense' and believe that the Executive Yuan should propose a second draft of the National Defense Special Act.
Under the numerical advantage of the KMT and TPP, the Legislative Yuan passed the National Defense Special Act on its third reading on the 8th, allocating an upper limit of NT$780 billion, but excluding commercial purchases and commissioned manufacturing projects. Public attention is focused on whether the Executive Yuan will propose another special act for items excluded from the military procurement act, such as drones.
The Taiwan Citizen Front, Taiwan Economic Democracy Union, Tibet-Taiwan Human Rights Link, and Taiwan Friends of Tibet and other civil society organizations held a press conference today in front of the Legislative Yuan's Qunxian Building, announcing that they will hold the 'True Peace, We Need Defense' 523 demonstration in Taipei City on the afternoon of the 23rd.
The participating organizations stated that the Executive Yuan's proposed draft special act for strengthening defense resilience and asymmetric warfare capability procurement, with an 8-year budget of NT$1.25 trillion, was significantly altered by the Legislative Yuan. Not only was the amount drastically cut, but five major important items were also deleted, severely impacting Taiwan's defense resilience and asymmetric warfare capability building.
Lai Chung-chiang, convener of the Economic Democracy Union's think tank, said that the think tank proposed the initiative 'Lai Government Should Propose a Second National Defense Special Act' on the 9th. Today, questionnaires and invitation letters were also sent to the offices of KMT and DPP legislators who intend to run for county magistrate or city mayor, hoping they would state their position on whether they support the Executive Yuan's proposal and the Legislative Yuan's passage of a 'Second National Defense Special Act Draft' to include the five military enhancement proposals previously excluded by the Legislative Yuan, including various types of drones, unmanned boats, and counter-systems. (Editor: Su Lung-chi) 20260511
Choose to stand with the facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
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The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.