The Ministry of Agriculture has estimated that agricultural losses caused by Typhoon Danas totaled NT$1.6 billion (US$54.72 million). During the last legislative session, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators jointly cut the ministry’s budget for this year’s agricultural special income fund by NT$90 million, which would inevitably impact the government’s distribution of agricultural disaster relief funds.
Additionally, disaster relief funds, which fall under the agricultural special income fund, have in recent years consistently faced budget shortfalls due to frequent natural disasters. As a result, the ministry has had to apply for permission from the Executive Yuan to access allocations from the secondary reserve fund.
However, Article 22 of the Budget Act (預算法) states: “No reserve funds shall be used for any budget items deleted or budget amount cut down by the Legislative Yuan at the review unless used for Allocations for Legal Expenses or otherwise agreed upon by the Legislative Yuan.”
Therefore, if disaster relief funds were to run empty, it would be impossible to employ the secondary reserve fund to fill in budgetary gaps, which would lead to significant delays in relief fund disbursement. This raises the question — should farmers seek compensation from KMT and TPP legislators for the losses they suffer as a result of these budget cuts?
The agriculture ministry had proposed a budget of NT$169.2 billion for this year, but the Legislative Yuan cut NT$2 billion to eliminate the budget for items such as marketing and publicity, domestic and international travel expenses, and public budgets for supplementary funds.
Article 6 of the Agricultural Natural Disaster Relief Regulations (農業天然災害救助辦法) stipulates that — within seven days following a natural disaster — local agricultural authorities may consult with the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute to assist with conducting damage assessments.
Similarly, the operational guidelines for agricultural natural disaster relief require that random inspections be conducted by small teams composed of personnel from the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute and the Agriculture and Food Agency. With the travel budgets for these departments having been cut this year, how would on-site damage assessments be carried out? Are civil servants expected to pay for their own travel expenses?
KMT and TPP legislators arbitrarily slashed the budget, directly cutting disaster relief funds that provide the subsidies farmers urgently need. As a result, it would be impossible for farmers affected by natural disasters to resume work as soon as possible to sustain their livelihoods. KMT and TPP legislators have not only failed their constituents, but also brought shame to the office of legislators.
Yeh Yu-cheng is a secretary at the Pingtung County Public Health Bureau.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
The US Senate’s passage of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which urges Taiwan’s inclusion in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise and allocates US$1 billion in military aid, marks yet another milestone in Washington’s growing support for Taipei. On paper, it reflects the steadiness of US commitment, but beneath this show of solidarity lies contradiction. While the US Congress builds a stable, bipartisan architecture of deterrence, US President Donald Trump repeatedly undercuts it through erratic decisions and transactional diplomacy. This dissonance not only weakens the US’ credibility abroad — it also fractures public trust within Taiwan. For decades,
In 1976, the Gang of Four was ousted. The Gang of Four was a leftist political group comprising Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members: Jiang Qing (江青), its leading figure and Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) last wife; Zhang Chunqiao (張春橋); Yao Wenyuan (姚文元); and Wang Hongwen (王洪文). The four wielded supreme power during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but when Mao died, they were overthrown and charged with crimes against China in what was in essence a political coup of the right against the left. The same type of thing might be happening again as the CCP has expelled nine top generals. Rather than a
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) on Saturday won the party’s chairperson election with 65,122 votes, or 50.15 percent of the votes, becoming the second woman in the seat and the first to have switched allegiance from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to the KMT. Cheng, running for the top KMT position for the first time, had been termed a “dark horse,” while the biggest contender was former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), considered by many to represent the party’s establishment elite. Hau also has substantial experience in government and in the KMT. Cheng joined the Wild Lily Student
Taipei stands as one of the safest capital cities the world. Taiwan has exceptionally low crime rates — lower than many European nations — and is one of Asia’s leading democracies, respected for its rule of law and commitment to human rights. It is among the few Asian countries to have given legal effect to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant of Social Economic and Cultural Rights. Yet Taiwan continues to uphold the death penalty. This year, the government has taken a number of regressive steps: Executions have resumed, proposals for harsher prison sentences
RSS