Taiwan's legislature delays general budget submission, sparking partisan clash

Premier Cho Jung-tai told reporters that the Legislative Yuan has not submitted the approved general budget to President William Lai, making the bill 351 days late. The Chinese Nationalist Party charged Cho with inflaming political discontent, alleging the government is using the funding gap to provoke public anger against opposition parties. The KMT’s legislative speaker had urged the body to send the budget before the new session beginning Sept. 29, a step the DPP caucus supported.

Because the general budget remains unsigned, a NT$607.63 billion supplementary package—covering wage increases for government workers and expanded subsidies for seniors, disabled persons, and low-income families—cannot be activated. A cabinet source confirmed the budget has not been received, meaning the NT$299.2 billion of unutilized funds cannot be deployed. The delay postpones benefits for up to 1.76 million pension recipients and 720,000 public-sector employees, underscoring ongoing partisan tensions over fiscal policy in Taiwan.