TAIPEI: Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament on Tuesday approved cuts to this year’s budget that President Lai Ching-te’s party says will hamper its ability to govern and harm the island’s security.
Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its majority in parliament in the 2024 elections that swept him to power and has struggled to advance its agenda.
The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) holds the most seats and, with the help of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), has pushed through bills that have angered the DPP and led to chaotic scenes inside parliament.
The opposition bloc on Tuesday voted in favour of cutting government spending, stripping around NT$207.5 billion from the government’s proposed NT$3.1 trillion budget, TPP acting chairman Huang Kuo-chang said on Facebook.
“This is returning money to the people,” KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi told reporters after the vote.
DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu said the “historically high” budget cut would leave “no sector unscathed”.
The government’s plan to increase defence spending to a record NT$647 billion in 2025 appears to have been scuttled, but the final figure was not immediately available.
The opposition had proposed among other things to freeze 50 per cent of spending on a submarine programme and drone industry park, cut foreign travel and training by 15 per cent and reduce operational costs.
Ahead of the final vote on Tuesday, Premier Cho Jung-tai said opposition parties had engaged in “ridiculous behaviour” and undermined confidence in the island’s commitment to boost its defences.
“The freeze of the submarine budget will let the world see that Taiwan’s parliament has obviously compromised Taiwan’s determination of its national defence capabilities,” Cho said.
“Our international credibility, our international responsibilities, and our international determination will all be undermined.”
That followed his remarks on Monday that budget cuts for government agencies would cause “irreparable errors and losses.”
The KMT has defended the reductions, saying the party was seeking to stop wasteful spending.
Lawmakers cast their votes hours after the swearing-in of US President Donald Trump, who has pressured American allies and partners to spend more on their own defence.
Taiwan lives under the constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims the island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.
Trump has previously suggested Taiwan should pay the United States for its protection and accused the island of stealing the US semiconductor industry.
While Taiwan has a homegrown defence industry and has been upgrading its equipment, it relies heavily on US arms sales to bolster its security capabilities.
“The US has long considered Taiwan’s defense budget insufficient,” Chieh Chung, a defence expert at Tamkang University, told AFP.
“The US might question whether its support for Taiwan is justified when internal political disputes reduce the effectiveness of such support.”
