By Xie Nan
After the US announced the suspension of a Taiwan arms sales package, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities appeared thrown into panic. Lin Chia-lung , head of Taiwan's so-called "foreign affairs department," stated on May 29, 2026 that US policy toward Taiwan has not changed, and claimed that Taiwan's recent efforts to strengthen self-defense capabilities, increase defense spending, and promote whole-of-society defense resilience were responses to US requirements and an act of taking proactive responsibility. From this perspective, the DPP authorities' insistence on tough rhetoric regarding arms procurement reflects not only an attempt to maintain its political base , but also a manifestation of its increasingly extreme "resisting China and seeking Taiwan independence" mentality.
The DPP's urgency over arms procurement stems from the "special defense procurement budget bill" being promoted by Lai Ching-te and others. After suffering a major setback in the "mass recall campaign" in August last year, the Lai authorities have sought to reverse their governance difficulties by aggressively playing the "resisting China to protect Taiwan" card. Under the pretext of enhancing Taiwan's security, the Lai authorities proposed a NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget, effectively attempting to pay a "protection fee" to the US. The aim is to curry favor with US conservative political forces and the military-industrial complex, in the hope of securing continued support for "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, while also constraining the opposition blue and white camps. The Lai authorities are attempting to dominate the political agenda through security issues, thereby diverting public attention from mounting economic and livelihood pressures.
However, according to shifting public opinion trends on the island, the public has not been persuaded by the Lai authorities' aggressive push for arms procurement. A mid-May poll conducted by TVBS in Taiwan showed that 45% of respondents were dissatisfied with Lai's performance since taking office, while 48% expressed a lack of trust in him. In addition, 51% said they had no confidence in his future governance, and 46% were dissatisfied with the administrative team led by Cho Jung-tai. Public opinion on the island has thus demonstrated that, despite the Lai authorities' continuous rebranding of their "resisting China to protect Taiwan" narrative, the majority of people are no longer receptive to it. A public opinion poll released in April by the Democracy Foundation a civil organization in Taiwan, showed that as many as 64.6% of respondents agreed that enhancing contact and exchanges and building a good relationship can better maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, on the issue of external forces that the green camp and its affiliates rely on to "support Lai and protect Taiwan" Taiwan society remains largely cautious. More than 50% of respondents do not believe that the US would unconditionally send troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a cross-Strait conflict.
These findings suggest that the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces led by Lai are not unaware of the real aspirations of Taiwan society. Rather, they remain firmly convinced that by holding on to their political base, they can replicate the outcome of the so-called "2024 Election," and thus continue to pursue an uncompromising path of "resisting China and seeking Taiwan independence." To curry favor with the US, Lai has repeatedly expressed expectations for arms procurement in public, stating that he hopes to further deepen Taiwan-US relations built on the so-called "Taiwan Relations Act."
What is more concerning is that Lai has been forcefully advancing military construction centered on UAVs. The underlying objective is to follow external demands and adopt the so-called "porcupine strategy," building asymmetrical warfare capabilities. By leveraging the short production cycle and ease of operation of drones, this approach integrates unmanned systems into Taiwan's so-called "comprehensive combat readiness system," preparing for scenarios such as so-called "urban warfare" and even "scorched-earth policy" in the future. In practice, this approach not only disregards the reality of Taiwan's drone industry, but also ignores the fact that the island's limited geographic size leaves no space for strategic depth. It insists on binding ordinary people in Taiwan to the "Taiwan independence" agenda, in an attempt to turn more civilians into cannon fodder. Public opinion on the island has also sharply pointed out that the green camp's enthusiasm for the drone industry is nothing more than treating it as the next "big cake" for political patronage and distribution of interests.
Facts have proven that separatist forces advocating "Taiwan independence" are indeed the greatest source of instability in the Taiwan Strait. The pursuit of "seeking independence by force" is not only a political tool used by green camp politicos to gain electoral advantage through the "resisting China to protect Taiwan" narrative, but also conceals attempts by "Taiwan independence" separatists to carve up public resources. Their frantic behaviors to pursue arms procurement fully expose their ugly nature of betraying Taiwan for personal gain.
(The author is a researcher of the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Editor's Note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.