TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Opposition legislators blocked a NT$1.25 trillion (around US$39.68 billion) defense budget in Taiwan's parliament on Friday (Jan. 9), dealing a sixth defeat to the ruling party's military spending plan. The Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 台灣民眾黨) voted 59-50 against the Special Act for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Capabilities (強化防衛韌性及不對稱戰力計畫採購特別條例) in the Legislative Yuan (立法院), Taiwan's legislature.
The Executive Yuan (行政院), Taiwan's cabinet, first approved the NT$1.25 trillion (around US$39.68 billion) special budget on Nov. 27 and sent it to parliament for review. Opposition parties have blocked the proposal six times since Dec. 2, demanding that military pay raises be included in the regular budget rather than the special defense package. The KMT and TPP argue the government should prioritize troop compensation before approving new weapons spending.
The Legislative Yuan's procedure committee advanced the opposition's agenda proposal to the full session on Jan. 6. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) legislators, including caucus secretary-general Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), lined up outside the chamber Thursday night to secure priority for their motion Friday morning. The tactical move failed to overcome the opposition's numerical advantage in the vote.
Cross-party negotiations Friday morning failed to produce a compromise. Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) convened a meeting after talks broke down, but the opposition coalition held firm. The 59-50 vote marked the sixth time the KMT-TPP alliance has blocked the ruling DPP's defense budget proposal since December. ◼