Taipei: Opposition parties are urging cross-party negotiations on how President Lai Ching-te should present a national affairs report at the Legislative Yuan, with a preference for a question-and-answer format. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu has suggested a questions-first-answers-second format after a meeting with branch leaders, noting that President Lai is willing to discuss key issues with lawmakers.

According to Focus Taiwan, Fu Kun-chi, the Kuomintang (KMT) legislative caucus convener, expressed respect for Lai’s willingness to engage with the legislature and emphasized that the format must be finalized through cross-party discussions. Fu highlighted the need for the report to address significant issues, such as budget concerns, national security challenges, and policy directions, in a transparent manner.

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislative caucus also supports deciding the format through cross-party negotiations, emphasizing that the focus should be on genuine interaction. They called for transparency regarding military procurement budgets and the U.S.-Taiwan trade and tariff agreement, while also urging Lai to clarify his stance on constitutional obligations related to legislative processes.

On the ruling party’s side, Chen Pei-yu, secretary-general of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus, affirmed Lai’s willingness to report to the Legislature, provided it adheres to constitutional requirements. She noted that the DPP is open to discussing various formats, procedures, and topics for the report through cross-party negotiations, with an open attitude toward different approaches.