Closed-door discussions between senior government and opposition figures on Friday failed to yield any progress on a standoff at the legislature over a Cabinet-proposed central government budget plan for the fiscal year 2025.
It was “regrettable” that the Executive Yuan had not come up with any solutions, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said to reporters, adding that his party would need to convene and discuss its next steps.
The Executive Yuan had “not yet learned to respect the public opinion in the country,” Fu said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Opposition lawmakers have blocked the review of the government budget plan since the new session of the legislature began at the end of last month.
Friday’s closed-door meeting was proposed by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the KMT and attended by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and other senior Cabinet officials.
Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the opposition — the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) — also joined the meeting.
Han and Cho quickly hopped into their respective vehicles after leaving the restaurant where the meeting was held, with both declining to speak to reporters.
On the other hand, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that Friday’s meeting merely aimed to provide an opportunity for members of the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan to exchange views in a less formal setting and pave the way for interparty negotiations at the legislature.
The crux of the budget impasse should be dealt with formally and on the record at the legislature, Ker said, adding that he remained hopeful Han would convene interparty negotiations as soon as possible.
Neither party has revealed details of the discussions.
The budget plan finalized by the Executive Yuan in August has yet to pass its first reading, a necessary step for it to be sent to various legislative committees for careful deliberation. KMT and TPP lawmakers, who together form a majority in the legislature, have blocked the plan on the grounds that it fails to earmark funds incurred as a result of an amended law or resolutions adopted earlier this year.
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