Legislator's budget cut proposal sparks outrage in Taiwan's arts sector

A proposal by opposition legislator Weng Hsiao-ling to drastically cut the Ministry of Culture's budget has ignited fierce opposition from Taiwan's arts and cultural sector. Weng's proposal targets over 30 budget items, including a 47.38 million NT dollar cut to media and publicity expenses and a 210 million NT dollar reduction in subsidies for arts groups, bringing the total proposed cuts to over 1 billion NT dollars.

“

We cannot use the cultural budget as a tool for political infighting because of different political stances. Culture does not belong to any political party; it is Taiwan's common asset. Political matters should be resolved politically, do not let Taiwan's cultural development be buried with it.

The arts community has voiced strong objections, labeling the move an "abuse" of budget review and warning that culture should not be used as a political bargaining chip. Chen Ching-ying, chairman of the Gallery Association, emphasized that budget reviews should be rational and professional, not based on blanket zeroing out or applying the same reasoning to different items. She noted that Taiwan's cultural landscape relies heavily on small and medium-sized institutions, galleries, artists, and private teams, and significant cuts to public cultural resources would harm the entire ecosystem and frontline workers.

“

The budget review should be item-by-item, rational, and professional, not by completely zeroing out or applying the same reasons to different items.

Lin Chia-feng, CEO of Story Workshop and the Performing Arts Alliance, appealed for the separation of political matters from cultural development, stating, "Culture does not belong to any political party; it is Taiwan's common asset." He warned that using cultural budgets for political battles would lead to the "burial" of Taiwan's cultural progress. Lin, with 35 years in the cultural sector, highlighted the dedication of frontline workers and stressed that the proposed cuts would harm them, not the minister or political parties.

“

She (Weng Hsiao-ling) has no heart, no feelings, no love for Taiwan, which is why she came up with such an unreasonable proposal, preventing Taiwan's precious cultural development from being known by more people. She is completely using her position to deliberately suppress and negate.

Wei Shu-chen, president of Yuan-Liou Publishing, expressed outrage, accusing Weng of lacking care and affection for Taiwan. Wei stated that such a "unreasonable proposal" would hinder the dissemination of Taiwan's precious culture. Weng, however, defended her actions, claiming her budget review is based on objective, scientific data and that every proposed cut is well-founded and open to public scrutiny.

“

Every budget cut is well-founded and open to public scrutiny.