In news from and about Taiwan this morning,

The leaders of the K-M-T and the Taiwan People's Party will not be attending
a national security briefing hosted by President Lai Ching-te scheduled for
this morning.

The Presidential Office had been saying the closed door meeting was aimed at
helping opposition leaders "understand the major threats facing the nation"
and related policies.

The meeting was slated to include reports by the Ministry of National
Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mainland Affairs Council and
the National Security Bureau.

K-M-T Chairman Eric Chu has been calling for issues such as industry and
energy to be included in the dialogue.

And K-M-T Secretary-General Justin Huang has told reporters that the party
declined the invitation "since the demands raised by the K-M-T were not
accepted by the government."

The Taiwan People's Party has issued a statement saying Chairman Huang
Kuo-chang will not be attending what it described as "Lai Ching-te
government's hasty and politically calculated arrangements."

That statement went on to say it was puzzling that the briefing would be
restricted to discussing national security topics ..

.. and "there is a large gap between President Lai Ching-te's promise to
invite opposition leaders to 'sincerely and frankly exchange views and
jointly discuss national affairs' and the expectations of the public."

The T-P-P chairman has said there was no "communication" between himself and
the K-M-T chairman on the issue of whether to attend the meeting.