Government, opposition battle over budget as vote looms

Taipei, Jan. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's government and the opposition-controlled Legislature continued to battle Monday over planned cuts to the Cabinet's 2025 budget proposal, ahead of an expected final vote on Tuesday.

The budget proposal approved by the Cabinet last August set government spending for the fiscal year 2025 at NT$3.1325 trillion (US$95.57 billion) with projected revenues of NT$3.1534 trillion -- both record highs -- working out to a surplus of NT$20.9 billion.

On Saturday, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) -- the two main opposition parties in Taiwan -- joined hands to slash NT$93.98 billion, or around 3 percent, from the budget plan during a second reading of the budget bill in the Legislature.

That would still leave the central government with a more than 6 percent increase in funding from the 2024 budget of NT$2.85 trillion.

The 2025 budget is now scheduled for a third and final reading on Tuesday, the last day of the current legislative session.

At a press conference Monday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) criticized what he said was the opposition's "unreasonable" approach to the budget, warning that the cuts, especially those to ministries' travel and policy promotion budgets, would hamper the government's operations.

Cho said the Cabinet had approved NT$3.1 trillion in government spending for 2025, an increase of NT$280.6 billion, or just under 10 percent, compared to the 2024 budget.

The higher spending was made possible by increased tax revenues and GDP growth over the past few years, Cho said, which have allowed the government to make more long-term investments in Taiwan's public infrastructure.

For example, the proposed NT$280.6 billion spending hike included NT$79.8 billion in additional funding for public infrastructure, NT$41.5 billion for national defense, and NT$33.6 billion to stabilize the finances of the national health insurance system, Cho said.

Cho alleged that the KMT and TPP had decided in advance to slash the budget plan by 3 percent, and had only then begun thinking how to reach that figure.

He was especially critical of plans to cut the budgets of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Ministry of Digital Affairs, and National Communications Commission "to only NT$1," calling the move "insulting."

"Is this not [an effort] to paralyze the country?" Cho said.

Later on Monday, however, the Legislature approved spending reductions smaller than those mentioned by the premier, cutting NT$130 million and freezing almost NT$100 million from the MAC's original proposed budget of NT$1.039 billion.

Cho's press conference capped off a multi-day period in which government agencies have publicly warned of the dangers posed by the cuts, contending that they will harm national competitiveness, weaken defense capabilities and slow technological advancement.

In response, Lin Szu-ming (林思銘), secretary-general of the KMT's legislative caucus, said Monday that lawmakers have a responsibility to clamp down on inflated budgets and wasteful spending.

If there are projects that truly require funding, "we can make those adjustments at the appropriate time," Lin said.

Meanwhile, TPP legislative caucus convener Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said his party had "only" sought NT$100 billion in cuts from the government's budget proposal.

If Premier Cho receives NT$2.9 trillion in funding and "still doesn't know how to govern, then please ... step down and take responsibility," Huang said.

Additional spending freezes advance

Even as the sides continued to spar over the budget plan, the KMT and TPP took to the legislative floor Monday to advance additional spending freezes.

As of Monday afternoon, the parties had joined to pass a measure freezing NT$500 million in funding for the Executive Yuan, or Cabinet, until it issued a report and written apology to the Legislature's Internal Administration Committee for acting "in contempt of the Legislature."

The parties also voted to freeze 70 percent of the Cabinet's regular operating expenses, with the requirement that the Cabinet submit a request to access the funds after spending the first 30 percent of its budgeted operating expenses.

The 2025 government budget, along with the spending cuts and freezes pushed by the KMT and TPP, is expected to pass a final reading on Tuesday, given that the parties control 54 seats and eight seats, respectively, in Taiwan's 113-seat Legislative Yuan.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party has 51 seats.