Taiwan's parliament reopens under pressure from civic groups who say opposition lawmakers are stalling defense spending at a dangerous moment.

• More than 40 groups are rallying outside the legislature tonight, demanding lawmakers stop blocking government agencies and pass a supplementary budget.
• The fight centers on money for homegrown drones, cut earlier by the opposition and now rewritten into an extra budget that has under 100 days left to spend.
• Campaigners point to China's plan to mark 100 years of its military next August, plus new amphibious assault and landing ships that could threaten Taiwan.
• Eight opposition lawmakers running for mayor or county chief are being singled out; groups threaten to demand they quit the race if the budget does not pass by end of October.
• Critics also say the opposition has refused to disclose how publicly funded assistants are hired, calling that a security risk if these candidates win local power.

Outlook: The end-of-October budget deadline becomes the test — miss it, and the military loses the time it needs to tender contracts, while street protests escalate into the year-end local elections.