The budget for this year’s twin-city forum between Taipei and Shanghai would be frozen if China’s military aircraft and ships continue to patrol near Taiwan ahead of the event later this year, the Taipei City Council said on Monday.
Following six days of inter-party negotiations, the decision was made on Monday to budget about NT$1.3 million (US$46,903) for the annual event, on one condition.
The condition put forth by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus was that the budget should be frozen if the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to send aircraft and vessels to areas around Taiwan prior to the event’s opening.
Photo: Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
Taipei city councilors from the DPP and their Social Democratic Party counterpart, Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅), initially said that the budget should be scrapped entirely, but Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and New Party councilors opposed the idea.
They eventually reached a consensus and agreed to attach the condition.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Wang Hsin-yi (王欣儀) said that the party’s caucus accepted the proposal with the condition, as the PLA’s patrols near Taiwan have caused resentment.
New Party convener Pan Hwai-tzong (潘懷宗) said that the twin-city forum should be held if cross-strait relations are good at the time, and canceled if they are not.
The council is reviewing the NT$174.532 billion in expenses and NT$171.997 billion in income that the Taipei City Government has budgeted for this year.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in