Taiwan's political standoff turned openly hostile over the National Day holiday, with the opposition now talking about using hard power against the president — bad news for anyone hoping the island's two branches of government can work together.

• Legislative speaker Han Kuo-yu used his National Day speech to accuse President Lai Ching-te and Premier Cho Jung-tai of running a "fake democracy, real dictatorship," drawing a sharp rebuttal from the presidential office.
• KMT lawmaker Weng Hsiao-ling backed him, saying gentle persuasion has failed and the legislature should now use "iron-fist" tactics to draw a line and defend its authority.
• The complaints center on Lai refusing to nominate top judges, declining to promulgate passed laws, not countersigning legislation, and leaving budgets unfunded — all seen by the opposition as constitutional hardball.
• Weng also called it shameful that former president Chen Shui-bian, a convicted corruption offender on medical parole, sat center stage at the ceremony, and warned history may record 2026 as the republic's "first year of dictatorship."
• Taichung mayor Lu Shiu-yen defended Han's remarks as sincere and urged Lai to mediate between the executive and the legislature.

Outlook: Expect the deadlock to harden as local elections approach in under seven weeks, with the legislature likely to escalate rather than negotiate.