Local leaders disappointed at central government funding cuts

Taipei, May 22 (CNA) Several local governments have voiced opposition to the Executive Yuan's recent decision to cut their funding for the remainder of fiscal 2025, saying it will disrupt ongoing projects.

At a press briefing on Thursday, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said the reduction was made in response to the Legislative Yuan's demand that the central government slash its 2025 spending by approximately NT$207.6 billion (US$6.43 billion).

Of that total, NT$63.6 billion was left for the Executive Yuan to determine what specific budgeted items to remove, according to the plan pushed through in January by lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party, who together hold a majority in the Legislature.

Lee said to avoid undermining the implementation of defense, foreign affairs, education and other national policies, the central government decided to withhold the "general-purpose" grants normally distributed to local governments.

This means the executive body will not allocate some NT$63.6 billion to local governments from May to December, which accounts for 25 percent of the total grant pool for the year, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) under the Executive Yuan.

Lee said, citing DGBAS assessments, that "most local governments will not be financially strained [as a result of the funding cuts], with Miaoli County being one exception."

The spokesperson added the Cabinet was willing to continue to support the northwestern county, but she did not elaborate on what assistance might be provided.

Under current regulations, general-purpose grants drawn from the annual central government budgets are intended to help local governments address shortfalls in their expenditure and fund public services, such as education and social welfare programs and basic infrastructure.

Speaking at a ship launch ceremony on Thursday, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expressed frustration with the decision, saying the city would lose over NT$5.1 billion in funding - the most of any local jurisdiction across Taiwan.

Chen warned that the cut in funding for Kaohsiung would "seriously undermine" the city government's capacity to deliver childcare, long-term care services, as well as other social welfare programs.

"This kind of cut is deeply unfair to the people of Kaohsiung," Chen said, expressing hope that the central government would continue to support the city.

Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), mayor of New Taipei, the most populous city in Taiwan, criticized the central government for not consulting local authorities in advance and urged it to reconsider the move.

New Taipei stands to lose NT$3.04 billion in funding for key infrastructure for education, social welfare, law enforcement and emergency services, the KMT mayor said at an event in New Taipei on Thursday, adding that these were "the services the public need."

In Miaoli, which has long struggled with fiscal woes, Magistrate Chung Tung-chin (鍾東錦) of the KMT said Thursday the county would be short of NT$2.81 billion from central government funding - equivalent to 10 percent of its annual budget.

Speaking at a county council meeting, Chung called on the Cabinet to negotiate with local governments for "a better outcome" acceptable to both sides, noting that the relations between the central and local governments should be one of "partnership."

Miaoli faced a financial crisis in 2015 when its debt grew so large that it couldn't pay civil servant salaries. The central government later agreed to bail it out.