Budget deadlock continues as Legislature blocks review

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) A stalemate over the general budget for fiscal year 2026 continued Friday after the opposition-controlled Legislature again voted down a ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus motion to review the budget proposal, voting along party lines.

The DPP caucus placed its motion first on the agenda for Friday's legislative meeting, but the proposal was rejected 56-46 by lawmakers from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), which together hold a majority of seats in the Legislature.

An alternative agenda proposed by the TPP was adopted instead.

The opposition parties have been blocking consideration of the Cabinet's general budget proposal since September, after the Cabinet failed to earmark funds required under legislation passed in June mandating pay raises for active-duty military personnel, as well as a bill adopted in December to roll back pension cuts affecting civil servants and public school teachers.

In an unprecedented move, the DPP administration has refused to implement the two bills, describing them as "unconstitutional" and "harmful to fiscal sustainability."

A motion proposed by the DPP caucus in the Legislature to issue a statement condemning large-scale military drills conducted by China around Taiwan from Monday to Wednesday was not voted on when the opposition parties rejected the DPP's proposed agenda.

DPP Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) told reporters at the Legislature that the condemnation statement was bundled with the agenda proposed by the caucus and added later.

Following the vote, the Cabinet and the National Security Council issued separate statements expressing "astonishment" and "regret" that the condemnation motion was not considered.