Han Kuo-yu Mistakenly Calls Legislator Fan Yun 'Tsai Ing-wen' During Budget Talks

A moment of confusion arose during a legislative negotiation session in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan when President Han Kuo-yu mistakenly referred to Democratic Progressive Party legislator Fan Yun as former President Tsai Ing-wen. The slip of the tongue occurred as Han was presiding over discussions concerning the 2026 central government budget, specifically the allocation for drone popularization and education initiatives.

The budget item in question involves funding from the Ministry of Education to support universities in acquiring drones, establishing related teaching systems, developing application courses, and promoting drone science education. This initiative is linked to the Ministry of Economic Affairs' plan to develop the "Unmanned Vehicle (Drone and Unmanned Surface/Underwater Vessel) Industry Development Integrated Plan."

“

Yes, Tsai Ing-wen... uh... Legislator Fan Yun, sorry.

During the negotiation, Taiwan People's Party legislator Tsai Chun-chu proposed freezing NT$80 million, requesting a comprehensive plan from the Ministry of Education detailing schools, courses, and teacher training before releasing the funds. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus proposed reducing the budget by NT$79.1 million and freezing 50% of it, citing a lack of specific details on procurement quantities, specifications, cost estimates, and subsidy recipients, as well as insufficient planning for teacher training and performance evaluation.

Fan Yun intervened, clarifying that the program spans from 2026 to 2028 and includes plans for high school and university students' basic drone skills and remote collaboration capabilities. She noted that 64 schools and 102 projects have already submitted proposals for the 2026 phase. Fan criticized the opposition's proposals, stating that freezing half the budget and reducing the other half effectively nullifies the program, which she deemed unreasonable.

“

I don't know if the two of you have requested information from the Ministry of Education. This plan is actually from 2026 to 2028, regarding students' basic drone skills and remote drone collaboration capabilities. Both high schools and universities have different plans. The Ministry of Education has already organized the selection for the 2026 plan, with 64 schools and 102 projects having submitted proposals and completed the review. The TPP simply says they don't know what this is, and the KMT says the plan content is unclear. Reducing half and freezing half means the entire plan is effectively zero, which is very unreasonable.