Budget Stuck for 1 Year! Chung Chia-pin Slams Blue-White Parties: 'Freezing Already Spent Funds' is an Epic Joke

Taiwan's legislative budget review is facing an unprecedented delay, having stalled for 346 days with around 200 proposals still under negotiation. This prolonged impasse threatens to create a "joke" scenario where funds legally allocated and spent under previous budgets could be frozen, according to Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chung Chia-pin.

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If the opposition parties continue to freeze or cut significantly at this point, it could lead to a situation where funds have already been legally spent but are then frozen, creating an unprecedented joke.

Chung explained that under Article 54 of the Budget Act, government agencies continue to operate based on the previous year's budget if the current year's total budget is not approved within the legal timeframe. This means administrative bodies have already been legally spending funds according to last year's allocations for over half the year. If opposition parties now insist on significant freezes or cuts to the current budget, it could lead to a situation where the approved budget is lower than the previous year's, a move Chung described as "ineffective freezing."

He pointed to the example of the Control Yuan, whose operational expenses were cut to just 4% last year. Because the current budget remains unapproved, the Yuan is operating on this severely limited budget, even economizing on utilities. Chung criticized proposals by opposition legislators, such as those from the Kuomintang's Weng Hsiao-ling and the Taiwan People's Party caucus, to entirely reduce or freeze the budget, calling it legally unsound and socially indefensible.

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How can you freeze something that has already been spent?

Chung accused the opposition parties of engaging in political posturing rather than following legal processes. He characterized the opposition's approach as a "joint criminal conspiracy," with the Taiwan People's Party acting as the instigator, proposing and criticizing budgets, while the Kuomintang passively agrees to reserve proposals. He suggested that regional Kuomintang legislators, possibly influenced by recall efforts and local election pressures, are avoiding taking strong stances on the budget, leaving the more ideologically driven members to lead the charge.

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The opposition parties are not acting according to the law; they are just putting on a political show!