Hundreds of people rallied in central Taipei on Saturday to express opposition to defence budget cuts, following the opposition-controlled parliament’s approval of a reduced special defence budget on May 8. President Lai Ching-te had requested a supplementary defence budget of $40 billion, intended to fund U.S. arms and domestically made equipment such as drones. The parliament approved only two-thirds of the requested amount, limiting the funding to U.S. arms only and removing support for domestically produced drones and AI integration. The opposition cited concerns that the government’s defence budget proposals were unclear and could lead to corruption. The main opposition parties in Taiwan’s parliament are the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). According to dominotheory.com, 57 civic groups participated in the protest, which included a massive march through Taipei’s downtown, and was organised by the Taiwan Economic Democracy Union. Wang Hsing-huan, chairman of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, said, 'True peace requires national defence. Only by strengthening our national defence can we ensure Taiwan’s freedom.' According to dominotheory.com, Lee Ming-che, a Taiwanese pro-democracy activist who was detained by Chinese authorities for five years, said, 'Only with drones and unmanned boats can we survive on today’s battlefield.' China views Taiwan as its own territory.