AI-generated summary
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council holds regular press conferences to express its official position on cross-Strait relations. The Democratic Progressive Party authorities have made many Taiwan-related remarks recently, emphasizing sovereignty, democracy and freedom. Lai Ching-te also expressed a similar stance in his Double Ten speech.
China News Service, October 14. On October 14, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council held a regular press conference. A reporter asked: The Democratic Progressive Party authorities recently claimed that "the Chinese Communist Party has been exerting compound pressure on Taiwan for a long time in an attempt to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan will continue to adhere to its sovereignty and lifestyle of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law, and is committed to maintaining the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait." Lai Qingde also claimed in his "Double Ten" speech that he "will not give up freedom" and "will not accept being dwarfed." Any comment on this?
Chen Binhua, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China. This is the true status quo across the Taiwan Strait. Under the guise of so-called "freedom and democracy", the Democratic Progressive Party authorities continue to peddle the fallacy of "Taiwan independence", wantonly slander and attack the mainland, exaggerate the so-called "pressure and threats", create false narratives of "democracy versus authoritarianism", incite cross-strait confrontation, and attempt to "use force to seek independence" and "rely on foreign countries to seek independence". This will only increasingly put Taiwan into danger and bring serious disasters to the Taiwanese people. I believe that more and more Taiwan compatriots will recognize the hypocrisy of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities' so-called "maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" and the dangers and harmfulness of stubborn provocations for "independence", resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" separatism, and protect their own interests and well-being and the common home of the Chinese nation. (China News Network "Yanxintai" Studio)
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council will continue to issue official statements on Taiwan-related issues
Very likely · Within weeks
The DPP authorities may maintain their current statement on Taiwan
Likely · Within months

Taiwan's local elections will be held at the end of November. This article explores the historical formation and recent changes of the "North Blue and South Green" political landscape, pointing out that ethnic identity, economic structure and cross-Strait relations are key factors, and the flow of voters in the middle will become an important variable affecting the election results.

The Taipei mayoral race in Taiwan's 2026 nine-in-one local elections has entered a fierce stage. The support gap between Democratic Progressive Party candidate Shen Boyang and the current KMT mayor Chiang Wanan has narrowed from 28 percentage points to 8 percentage points. Shen Boyang rose to prominence with his "Ocean Current" political voice, attracting the attention of middle voters, while Jiang Wanan emphasized his political achievements and warned that this was the most intense election he had ever faced. The election results will affect President Lai’s midterm review and the prelude to the 2028 presidential election.

A poll conducted by the People's Association shows that Su Qiaohui leads Li Sichuan by 13.1 percentage points in the New Taipei City election. Zhao Xiaohui analyzed that Shen Boyang needs to rely on three strategies to win the Taipei mayoral election: creating a positive energy municipal election campaign, taking advantage of Jiang Wanan’s mistakes, and mobilizing pan-green and centrist voters. She pointed out that if the turnout rate reaches 75%, other voters except the Deep Blue Iron vote will abandon Chiang and vote for Shen, and Shen Boyang will be elected.
Chen Binhua, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a regular press conference that the mainland has continued to promote the legalization of the protection of the rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots through various measures including legislation, law enforcement, judiciary and legal services, improved the complaint coordination mechanism, and safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots, which has been widely praised by Taiwan compatriots and enterprises.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan responded to UMC Chairman Tsao Hing-cheng's remarks about calling the three Kuomintang legislators around him the "three evil people." He pointed out that this statement was exactly the same as the slogans, routines and demands of calling the legislators "communist bandits" during last year's general recall. He questioned whether this was "General Recall 2.0" and emphasized that the three legislators were elected by public opinion, have a sense of justice, and dare to fight against power.

According to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, as of the first half of this year, there were 39.354 million urban and rural subsistence allowance recipients and 4.937 million extremely poor people across the country; 12.027 million people with disabilities received living subsidies and 16.871 million people with severe disabilities received nursing subsidies. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the cumulative expenditure on basic living assistance exceeded 1.38 trillion yuan, and the average standard of urban and rural subsistence allowances increased by 22.8% and 25% respectively. After the implementation of the Social Assistance Law, measures such as service assistance, big data early warning, and subsidy increases have promoted the transformation of assistance from material assistance to material + services, achieving accurate identification, early intervention, and warm protection.