The Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan have decided on “no countersignature and no promulgation” of an amendment to a government revenue allocation law passed by the Legislative Yuan, sources said yesterday, which would be a first in the nation’s history.
President William Lai (賴清德) would address the public over the issue tomorrow, the sources said, adding that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) would also hold a news conference to explain the reasons for not countersigning.
Amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) passed on Nov. 14 state that local governments would receive a larger share of the central government revenue each year.
Photo: CNA
The amendments also stipulate a minimum budget of project-based subsidies to be allocated to local governments, which would increase expenses by about NT$264.6 billion (US$8.48 billion).
However, the Executive Yuan said the amendments “cannot be implemented,” as they would force the central government to increase borrowing for the 2026 budget by NT$264.6 billion, pushing it beyond the statutory debt ceiling.
The Cabinet last month asked the legislature to revisit the amendments, but the request was denied by the opposition 59-50 on Friday last week, with votes to uphold the original version.
The opposition said the real reason behind Cho’s rejection of the legislation was because he wanted to keep government revenues under the control of the central government, rather than distributing them to local governments.
After the motion was voted down, Cho suggested that the Executive Yuan might ignore the amendments, saying he was “under no pressure to execute” them, citing procedural flaws in their review.
In a Friday meeting held by Lai as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) head, which was attended by all 51 DPP lawmakers and Cabinet Secretary-General Xavier Chang (張惇涵), the party caucus pledged full support for any countermeasure adopted by the Cabinet.
DPP caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said that with the Constitutional Court paralyzed, Lai has asked Cho to consider not countersigning the amendment, in which case the president would not be able to promulgate the legislation.
DPP lawmakers unanimously agreed to counter what they see as potentially “unconstitutional” laws passed by the opposition, Chung said.
Lai said the amendments, along with the opposition’s blocking of a NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget, undermine national security, social stability, fiscal sustainability and civil rights.
“Under these grim circumstances, it is incumbent upon me to meet with the DPP legislative caucus to discuss how to respond,” he said.
Meanwhile, regarding amendments to the Civil Servants Retirement, Discharge and Pensions Act (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) and the Public School Employee Retirement, Discharge and Pensions Act (公立學校教職員退休資遣撫卹條例) passed by the legislature on Friday, which would suspend cuts to civil servants’ pensions and reverse fiscal reform, sources said the executive branch also plans to adopt a “no countersignature and no promulgation” approach on the grounds that pension reform cannot be rolled back.
Lai hoped the Legislative Yuan would re-examine the amendments, so he has invited Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to a “National Affairs Tea Gathering” tomorrow in hopes that Han would refrain from sending out the bill, sources said.
Han has declined the invitation.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS