This Week in Taiwan 0628-0706
June 29: Twenty (20) Kuomintang (KMT) legislators occupied the chamber of the Legislative Yuan on the evening of June 28 and sprayed paint on the podium to protest the pork-barrel politics behind President Tsai Ing-wen's nomination of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Chen Chu as president of the Control Yuan. However, 20 hours later, the KMT legislators were removed by majority DPP legislators. The Legislative Yuan is set to confirm Control Yuan personnel appointments on July 17.
July 1: The national security law takes effect in Hong Kong. President Tsai Ing-wen stated that the legislation will fundamentally affect human rights and democracy in Hong Kong. Taiwan will continue to provide Hong Kong people necessary humanitarian assistance. The Taiwan-Hong Kong Service Exchange Office, set up under the guidance of the Mainland Affairs Council, began operations.
July 1: Foreign Minister Joseph Wu announced that Taiwan and Africa's Somaliland will set up representative offices under the name "Taiwan Representative Office" and "Somaliland Representative Office." Somaliland became independent from Somalia in 1991 and, with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $600, is one of the world's poorest countries. At present, Somaliland has yet to be recognized by any state and is not a member of the United Nations.
July 2: The Legislative Yuan passed the Irrigation Act. As of October 1, 17 irrigation associations in Taiwan will be converted into official organs, and over NT$70 billion (about US$2.3 billion) cash and NT$150 billion (about US$5 billion) will become public property. The move has angered many farmers, who came to the Legislative Yuan to protest the DPP administration for seizing private property at the expense of the most vulnerable workers. The KMT caucus of the Legislative Yuan announced that it would seek cross-partisan support to petition for interpretation by the Constitutional Court, Judicial Yuan.
July 3: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will resume operations of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Guam, which symbolizes upgrade of U.S.-Taiwan relations to a global partnership. The Guam office was abolished by the Tsai administration in 2017 due to limited functionality and budgetary considerations.
July 6: The Marine Corps held a military exercise on July 3, and a special battle assault rubber craft overturned in the waters. Seven officers and soldiers fell into the sea, and three, with their lives in danger, were taken to the hospital. As of July 6, two were pronounced dead. A major in charge of the amphibious combat exercise training committed suicide in his office on July 5.