Taiwan finally passes $93 billion budget, keeps drone program funding

After a historic 266-day impasse, Taiwan's opposition-controlled parliament passed the $93 bn budget, ensuring continued support for a drone programme central to the island's defence strategy against China. The Kuomintang had threatened a 70 percent reduction in drone funding but abandoned the proposal when it concluded the development and procurement tracks did not duplicate each other. Other reductions included a 60 percent cut to special allowances for agency heads, a 2.5 percent decrease in military equipment and facilities spending, and a 50 percent slash to media policy and publicity budgets.

Prior to the approval, the government relied on a provisional budget to pay civil servants and fund welfare programs. Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu warned that the prolonged delay fostered social division and a constitutional stalemate, urging both sides to seek compromise. President William Lai Ching-te emphasized that parliamentary review of the budget fulfills a constitutional duty.