Premier Cho likens opposition to 'legal illiterates' over cash handouts

Taipei, July 17 (CNA) Taiwan's Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Thursday likened the country's two main opposition parties to "legal illiterates" over a special statute that mandates a NT$10,000 (US$340) cash handout for each citizen.

"The opposition parties cannot circumvent the law like legal illiterates," Cho said at a press conference alongside Cabinet Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) and Deputy Director of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Chen Hui-chuan (陳慧娟).

The special statute, which passed the legislature on July 11, allocates NT$545 billion for the cash handout but omits NT$100 billion in subsidies for Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), Cho said, adding that it violates both the Constitution and Budget Act.

Cho said that while tax revenue from 2021 to 2024 exceeded budgeted figures by approximately NT$1.87 trillion, the actual available surplus stands at just NT$443.6 billion after various deductions for local governments, special funds, debt repayment and previous special budgets for items such as fighter jets.

He explained that given the Legislature's mandated handout, the total expenditure of NT$545 billion is projected to create an estimated NT$101.4 billion in additional national debt.

"Should we go into debt to issue cash handouts?" Premier Cho said.

Cho said he hopes to engage in discussions with the Legislative Yuan to clarify constitutional and budgetary review procedures, and urged the public to voice their views.

He suggested that some of the nation's additional fiscal resources could be better utilized for national security and infrastructure improvements, such as purchasing defense equipment and facilities, building grain storage facilities, and improving public infrastructure.

In response to a reporter's question about the opposition's assertion that the special statute is a law and not a budget proposal, and therefore not unconstitutional, Cho said that both Article 70 of the Constitution and Article 91 of the Budget Act cover laws and budgets.

Cho went on to state that the Constitution explicitly requires the Executive Yuan to draft the budget and the Legislative Yuan to review it, adding that the latter's addition of significant spending without consulting the Cabinet undermines national fiscal discipline.

He also criticized the exclusion of NT$100 billion in subsidies for Taipower from the special statute, despite the government's repeated efforts to bolster the company's financial stability.

The premier added that if the Legislative Yuan insists on its current course, the government will explore alternative funding methods to support state-run enterprises like Taipower.

The conflict between the government and the Legislature over the issue of cash handouts is the latest dispute between two of Taiwan's main government branches, known as Yuan, over the allocation of Taiwan's fiscal resources.

The Executive Yuan or Cabinet is controlled by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), while Taiwan's main opposition parties -- the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) -- hold a slim majority in the Legislative Yuan.

On Wednesday, KMT leader Eric Chu (朱立倫) said that President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Premier Cho "do not stand with the people" on the issue of the cash handout, which he said could cover a months-worth of groceries for a family.

Chu also said that the special statute was legal, since the Constitution and Budget Act only stipulate that the Legislative Yuan cannot increase the budget bill sent by the Executive Yuan, but the NT$10,000 cash handout legislation is "an ordinary bill."