TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) on Wednesday dismissed President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) call for him to speak out in defense of DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋), who was recently threatened by China.

Han compared Lai’s appeal to “asking someone else to take medicine when he is sick,” arguing that the president should instead focus on fixing what he described as the four pillars of Taiwan’s safety: protecting the Republic of China , safeguarding democracy, maintaining a strong US–Taiwan relationship, and preserving cross-strait peace, per UDN.

Han claimed that the DPP government has undermined three of those four pillars, except for the US–Taiwan relationship, and said Lai should restore them “to truly help Shen.”

On Tuesday, Lai had urged Han to issue a bipartisan statement supporting Shen, warning that “while today it is the DPP’s Shen, tomorrow it could be anyone from the KMT or TPP”, per CNA.

The DPP criticized Han’s response. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) pointed out that KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) recently attended an event that commemorated a former Chinese Communist Party spy, per UP Media. Cheng has said the event’s organizers did not mention the spy would be commemorated, but Cho argued that Han should first address his party’s conduct before criticizing others.

DPP Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) said the DPP sought to create a united front against China’s oppression, but the effort was rejected by both TPP and KMT, per UDN. Wu said it was time for Han, as legislative speaker, to respond to China’s threats directly.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties focused on the government’s response to the CCP’s actions. TPP Chair Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) accused the DPP of failing to handle the threats against Shen effectively, per Newtalk. He noted that Premier Cho previously called the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau’s investigation into Shen an “empty threat,” questioning whether Lai or Cho had misjudged the situation.

KMT Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) also criticized the government for politicizing the issue instead of providing concrete protection measures for Shen, per UDN. KMT Legislator Chang Chih-lun (張智倫) pressed Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on whether the government had formally lodged a protest with Beijing.

Chiu confirmed that the MAC had done so, but when Chang asked at what level and how many times the council had communicated with China, Chiu did not provide a clear answer.