Sawt Falasteen - Buffeted by political chaos, Taiwan's Lai marks first year in office

Lai, a staunch defender of Taiwan's sovereignty and detested by Beijing, is scheduled to deliver a speech and take questions from the media at 0130 GMT.

Taiwan's coast guard warned Monday that China may use "cognitive warfare" to "disrupt public morale" as Lai marks the first anniversary of his inauguration.

China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it, held large-scale military drills around the island days after Lai took office.

After promising to stand up to China and defend democracy at his inauguration, Lai is expected to highlight "democratic Taiwan, resilience and unity" in his address, the semi-official Central News Agency reported.

Lai has seen his first term in the top job engulfed in domestic political turmoil as opposition parties seek to stymie his agenda.

While Lai was elected in January 2024 with 40 percent of the vote, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its majority in parliament.

-Fights in parliament -

The main opposition Kuomintang party (KMT), which has friendly ties with China, has teamed up with the Taiwan People's Party to challenge the government's policies, including slashing the general budget.

Tensions have escalated into physical fights inside parliament and thousands of supporters of the DPP and opposition parties holding rival street protests.

The KMT has called Lai a "dictator" and accused him of pushing Taiwan closer to war with China, while the DPP suggests the KMT is a tool of Beijing and is undermining Taiwan's security.

Lai has seen his approval rating fall to 45.9 percent from 58 percent nearly a year ago, according to a survey by Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation in April.

His disapproval rating rose to 45.7 percent -- the highest since he took office -- which the polling group linked to the Lai government's handling of US tariffs on Taiwan and the DPP's unprecedented recall campaign targeting the opposition.

DPP supporters are seeking to unseat around 30 KMT lawmakers through a legal process that allows legislators to be removed before the end of their term.

While the threshold for a successful recall is high, the DPP only needs to win six seats to wrest back control of parliament.

A rival campaign to unseat 15 DPP members has been embroiled in controversy after KMT staffers were accused of forging the signatures of dead people.

The KMT has also threatened to recall Lai.

F.AbuZaid--SF-PST