The Legislative Yuan’s refusal to fund the government could reduce the economic growth rate by up to 1.5 percent next year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) told lawmakers yesterday.
Although the DGBAS has yet to make a formal assessment, growth is estimated to decline by 0.05 percent per NT$10 billion (US$317.7 million) in cuts to government spending, DGBAS Minister Chen Shu-tzu (陳淑姿) told a legislative hearing on the budget fight’s impact on the economy.
The legislative impasse affects general and special government budgets that totaled NT$299.2 billion, she said, adding that the 3.54 percent economic growth rate projected for next year must be revised downward.
Photo: CNA
DGBAS officials told reporters that government spending is part of the economic activities that drive growth, and that reduced funding would be detrimental to the nation’s economy.
Affected funding items include a NT$10.2 billion project on 10 technologies, including uncrewed vehicles, robotics, silicone chips and quantum computing, the NT$7.5 billion TPass 2.0 program, and a NT$6 billion sustainable materials industry park, the DGBAS said in a report.
National Science and Technology Council Deputy Minister Su Chen-kang (蘇振綱) said the budget fight cast into doubt government investments in key technologies, including computing power, silicon photonics and smart robotics.
Loss of funding in these areas would disrupt the council’s plans to facilitate the growth of Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector, he said, calling on lawmakers to pass the budget.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) said the withdrawal of state support could jeopardize Taiwan’s ability to obtain the advanced semiconductors for its AI program amid surging global demand for chips.
Separately, DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) wrote on social media that refusal to examine the budget by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) could render the nation defenseless against China.
The deadlock over funding jeopardizes the Ministry of National Defense’s budget of NT$78 billion, an amount accounting for 26 percent of next year’s budget, she said.
The spending would include the maintenance, spare parts and ammunition budget for the military’s aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and other equipment, as well as for the procurement of Harpoon missiles and F-16 targeting pods, and funding for training military reservists, she added.
“The KMT and TPP have opened a gap in the nation’s defenses, gladdened China and disheartened Taiwanese,” Wu said.
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