Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday said that the proposed NT$10 billion (US$326.1 million) increase in the ministry’s budget for next year is necessary to counter China’s growing aggression.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed a budget of NT$41.5 billion for next fiscal year, which has been sent to the legislature, seeking approval for a significant hike from this year’s NT$30.6 billion budget.
In a report to lawmakers, Lin said the proposed NT$10.9 billion increase is necessary to deal with China’s increasing aggression against Taiwan on the global stage.
Photo: CNA
Over the past 25 years, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has increased its budget 11 times, using the funds to lure Taiwan’s diplomatic allies away and isolate the nation, Lin said in his report to the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
“If our diplomatic resources are not given a major boost, it would be extremely difficult for us to compete with China’s strong offense and tremendous resources,” he said.
Lin was responding to questions by lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party about the reasons for the significant hike in his ministry’s proposed budget.
The proposal for the next fiscal year is 1.37 percent of the government’s projected total expenditure for that year, compared with 1.05 percent of the total this year, an official source said on condition of anonymity.
However, that amount is miniscule compared with China’s foreign affairs budget of 64.5 billion yuan (US$9.05 billion), which has jumped from 5.7 billion yuan 25 years ago, the source added.
Lin said that over the past few months, he visited nine countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Those democratic countries, including Japan and the Philippines, welcomed his visit despite China’s protests, he said.
Lin also applauded the Czech Republic for standing up to pressure from China last month, when he was invited to speak at the Warsaw Security Forum.
China tried to force Prague to withdraw his invitation, because Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) was also scheduled to visit the Czech Republic at about the same time, Lin said.
While Taiwan’s exchanges with non-allied countries might be limited, there is plenty of room for parliamentary, think tank, technological and cultural exchanges, he added.
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