Taiwan Ruling Party DPP's SNS Posts Supporting Martial Law
Criticism Post Uploaded 20 Minutes Later Amid Controversy
Same Opposition-Controlled Parliament... Opposition Demands "President Apology"
Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) appeared to support South Korea's state of emergency declaration but retracted the stance within 20 minutes.
According to Taiwan's Central News Agency on the 4th, a post was made on a social media account affiliated with the DPP stating, "In Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party are also disrupting the parliament," and "The team named Taiwan must always stand against attempts by dark forces to erode it."
Participants stand in front of a large Taiwanese flag fluttering in front of the Taipei Presidential Office during the National Day celebration on October 10, Taiwan. Photo by Yonhap News
The post included content such as, "With pro-North forces controlling the National Assembly, President Yoon Suk-yeol urgently declared martial law to protect the free constitutional order," and "In Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, the opposition reduced the defense budget, unconstitutionally expanded their powers, and paralyzed the Supreme Court."
This was interpreted as directly endorsing President Yoon Suk-yeol's state of emergency. However, anticipating controversy, the DPP deleted the post after about 20 minutes and posted a new statement criticizing the martial law in the same place. This incident is seen as revealing the DPP's dilemma amid a difficult minority government situation similar to South Korea's.
A post defending President Yoon Seok-yeol's martial law was uploaded on the social media (SNS) account under the Democratic Progressive Party, the ruling party of Taiwan, sparking controversy. Thread
The political sphere immediately erupted in opposition. The main opposition Kuomintang demanded an apology from President Lai Ching-te regarding the post. The Kuomintang criticized, "Both ruling and opposition parties in South Korea are criticizing the martial law, which is causing international outrage," and said, "(Martial law) is an attempt to seize parliament under the pretext of protecting the liberal democratic constitution." President Lai, who is on an overseas tour, avoided direct comments on the incident, stating, "Taiwanese democracy was achieved with great difficulty," but requested cooperation from the opposition, saying, "We must walk the path of democracy together."
Taiwan is a representative country that has experienced the pain of martial law in world history. Martial law was enforced for 38 years from May 20, 1949, to July 1987 during President Chiang Kai-shek's era, holding the record for the longest martial law period in the world. Regarding President Yoon's state of emergency, Taiwan media United Daily News reported, "The 'Seoul Spring' has reappeared after 44 years," calling it "the worst night and a sad and shocking nine hours."
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