TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's legislature began contentious deliberations Monday (April 28) over a massive economic stimulus package as opposition leaders signaled conditional openness to negotiations. The Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's main opposition party, expressed willingness to discuss the NT$410 billion (US$12.6 billion) special budget that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) personally presented to the Legislative Yuan (立法院), Taiwan's parliament. The proposal, approved last Thursday by the Executive Yuan, Taiwan's cabinet, aims to strengthen the island's economic and social resilience against mounting global uncertainties.
Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), who leads the opposition caucus in parliament, raised concerns about the allocation priorities, noting that merely 23% of the proposed funds directly address the economic impact of recent U.S. tariff policies — a figure he suggested warranted deeper legislative scrutiny. His party colleague, legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), highlighted what opposition legislators view as a troubling disparity: despite the budget's dramatic expansion from NT$88 billion to NT$410 billion (US$2.7 billion to US$12.6 billion), direct industry support increased by only NT$5 billion (US$154 million).
Opposition legislators expressed particular skepticism regarding a NT$100 billion (US$3.1 billion) allocation for Taiwan Power Company (台灣電力公司), the state-owned utility, questioning why such substantial funding was being directed toward energy infrastructure without comprehensive policy review. Wang pressed government officials for greater transparency on these allocations. Another KMT legislator, Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), argued that the proposal inadequately supports struggling industries and workers, advocating instead for direct cash payments to citizens as a more effective economic stimulus. In response, Premier Cho defended the package, emphasizing it would be funded through existing fiscal surpluses rather than new government debt. ★