Taiwan's 115th Budget Passed: Ministry of Culture Faces Over 1.3 Billion Cut, Minister Lee Yung Responds Heavily

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan has approved the central government's general budget for the upcoming year, but the Ministry of Culture faces substantial financial setbacks. The ministry's budget, originally set at NT$29.6 billion, has been reduced by approximately NT$1 billion and had NT$386 million frozen.

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The budget cuts and freezes are not a rational discussion of cultural policy itself. The ultimate loss will be Taiwan's voice in the world and the channels for interpreting Taiwan's perspective on sovereignty.

Minister of Culture Lee Yung voiced profound disappointment, asserting that these budget cuts are not the result of rational discussion on cultural policy. He warned that the ultimate loss will be Taiwan's international influence and its capacity to articulate its perspective on sovereignty. The ministry explained that while committee discussions were professional, the final budget decisions, particularly during party caucus negotiations, led to significant cuts concentrated on specific areas.

The most affected entities include the Public Television Service (PTS), which faces NT$321.85 million in cuts and freezes, TaiwanPlus (NT$220 million), and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) (over NT$100 million). Additionally, the Ministry of Culture's media promotion budget has been entirely eliminated for the second consecutive year.

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We are willing to humbly accept and actively improve in response to the budget supervision and suggestions of legislators.

The ministry highlighted that while it is willing to accept legislative oversight, the concentrated nature of these cuts raises serious concerns. Freezing a large portion of PTS's budget, for instance, is conditional on the appointment of a new board chairman and the submission of a project report, a process currently stalled due to resignations from review committee members. This condition effectively acts as a budget cut.

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This condition is effectively a budget cut.

Furthermore, the delay in budget review meant government agencies operated under last year's budget, completing over 70% of planned work, including joint productions and international collaborations. The current budget reduction now risks breach of contract disputes, potentially harming private sector partners and weakening Taiwan's content industry's development and international engagement.

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Public media, both PTS and TaiwanPlus, bear the mission and responsibility of public service and international communication, as is the case in democratic countries worldwide.