KMT Slams Premier for 'No Funds' Claim on Disaster Visits, Cites Intact Budgets

Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party has strongly refuted Premier Cho Jung-tai's assertion that budget cuts prevented him from personally visiting flood-stricken areas in southern Taiwan. The KMT insists that all relevant budgets for water management, disaster prevention, flood control, and post-disaster subsidies have not been reduced.

KMT Culture and Communications Committee Chairman Chen Yi-hsin criticized the premier's statement as "callous" and accused the executive branch of blaming the legislature for its own shortcomings. "Does the premier need to ask the Legislative Yuan if he gets travel expenses to visit disaster areas?" Chen questioned, highlighting the perceived absurdity of the premier's excuse.

The KMT caucus issued a firm clarification, stating that the central government's budget for the current year has been approved, and funds from the disaster reserve and second reserve fund are available for emergencies. Furthermore, Article 57 of the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act allows for the adjustment of annual revenue and expenditure to "shift the urgent to the important" when disaster prevention funds are insufficient. Taiwan has also seen tax revenue exceed estimates by hundreds of billions of dollars this year, indicating ample financial resources.

Chen Yi-hsin further criticized the ruling party's long-standing governance, pointing out that despite significant investment in water management over the years, areas like Tainan and Kaohsiung continue to suffer from recurrent flooding. He accused the administration of failing to address the root causes of flooding and disaster response inefficiencies, instead resorting to blaming the Legislative Yuan. The KMT urged Premier Cho to take responsibility, apologize for his "false statements," and immediately allocate resources to aid flood victims.