Taiwan Opposition Freezes Premier's Salary, DPP Cries Political Retribution

Taiwan's legislature has become the scene of a political showdown as opposition parties used their majority to freeze the salaries of Premier Cho Jung-tai and officials at the Illicit Regime Property Committee. The move, which targets Cho's salary from September to December and eliminates the salaries of the committee's political appointees, has been decried by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as an act of political vendetta.

DPP caucus whip Chuang Jui-hsiung strongly criticized the opposition's actions, stating that while opposing policies is legitimate, using the national budget to vent political anger is unacceptable. He argued that the budget review process should not be weaponized for personal retribution. "You can oppose policies, but you cannot use the national budget to vent political private anger, nor can you turn the power of the budget into political private execution," Chuang asserted.

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You can oppose policies, but you cannot use the national budget to vent political private anger, nor can you turn the power of the budget into political private execution.

The DPP contends that freezing the salaries of officials in constitutionally established roles, such as the premier, and for legally mandated bodies like the Illicit Regime Property Committee, crosses the line from legitimate oversight into political persecution. Chuang questioned whether this action sets a precedent for the majority party to arbitrarily cut the salaries of ministers or officials they simply dislike. The DPP maintains that while parliamentary majorities can supervise the government, this power should not be exercised based on personal animosity.

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If you don't like Cho Jung-tai today, will you cut the salary of whichever minister you don't like tomorrow?