DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Economy & Trade

KMT Backtracks on Drone Budget Cuts Amid Backlash, Opts for Freeze

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Kuomintang (KMT) party initially proposed halting a six-year, 44.2 billion New Taiwan dollar drone development plan and cutting its entire budget for 2022.
  • Facing strong backlash, the KMT later modified its stance, opting to freeze the budget instead of cutting it entirely.
  • The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) accused the KMT of attempting to sabotage the drone initiative, questioning their motives.

Taiwan's legislature saw a dramatic shift in the Kuomintang (KMT) party's stance on a significant drone development program. Initially, the KMT proposed to halt the six-year "Drone Industry Development Integrated Plan," which has a total budget of NT$44.2 billion, and sought to cut its entire 2022 budget. This move was met with considerable opposition.

Following the backlash, the KMT caucus revised its proposal, opting to freeze the budget rather than eliminate it. However, the party continued to criticize the plan, alleging it was illegally initiated before official approval. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus responded sharply, accusing the KMT of trying to obstruct the drone initiative through various means. They questioned the KMT's motives, with one DPP member suggesting the KMT's actions were suspiciously aligned with Beijing's interests, even invoking a hypothetical scenario where President Tsai Ing-wen might have "shaken hands with Xi Jinping."

The KMT is trying to freeze and cut the drone budget by any means necessary. Could it be that Tsai Ing-wen shook hands with Xi Jinping?

— Democratic Progressive Party caucusAccusing the KMT of sabotage and questioning their motives.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog