Taiwan President Lai Ching-te visited Kinmen on Saturday to mark the 68th anniversary of the 1958 artillery bombardment by Chinese forces, pledging to sustain defence spending above 3% of GDP and warning that Beijing has never abandoned its expansionist ambitions.
Presiding over a memorial service at Taiwu Mountain Cemetery, Lai said peace negotiations that sacrifice sovereignty would bring only humiliation and announced that the 2027 defence budget, including special allocations, would reach NT$1.12 trillion. He cited the need to leverage artificial intelligence and drones to counter threats to stability in the Indo-Pacific.
Kuomintang Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, also on the island, called for greater dialogue with Beijing and criticised Lai's approach, while urging voters to return the party to power so its president could lead the 70th anniversary commemoration. Independent candidates proposed a permanent ceasefire pact with Fujian and designating Kinmen as a cross-strait peace buffer.