Legislature votes to review 2.4% of government budget
Posted on 2026-01-17 13:07:13
The Legislative Yuan continued to block the 2026 central government budget, but it voted to decouple NT$72 billion for expedited review of public welfare and infrastructure programs, including the popular TPass commuter initiative.
The KMT and TPP motion unbundled 38 items from the broader NT$3 trillion budget deadlock. The hived-off portion accounts for 2.4% of the total.
The 38 items will bypass committee review and proceed directly to closed-door negotiations convened by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu.
The allocation includes NT$7.5 billion to sustain the TPass program through 2029. The program currently serves more than a million commuters.
The DPP's Rosalia Wu condemned the move as an "ambush," saying the motion was distributed only 15 minutes before the session, leaving lawmakers practically no time to review the details.
Cabinet Spokeswoman Michelle Lee slammed the piecemeal approach, saying, "every item in the budget is interconnected and vital to national progress."
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