Cross-party negotiations over the special defense budget ended after just one hour this afternoon, after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers clashed over the budget cap.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) convened the third round of negotiations today, but ended the meeting early so the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) could seek internal consensus.
Sources said that KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) earlier proposed raising the budget from the KMT caucus’ original proposal of "NT$380 billion plus N" to NT$800 billion (US$12.09 billion to US$25.45 billion).
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The “plus N” portion of the proposal means waiting until the US issues letters of acceptance for arms sales to propose the relevant budgets, subject to legislative approval.
However, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) opposed the increase and insisted on sticking to the original proposal.
TPP caucus whip Jacky Chen (陳清龍) also said that his party needed to return to its caucus to further discuss the figures.
Following the adjournment, Han set Wednesday next week for the fourth round of talks.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told reporters after the meeting that while the DPP does not object to the KMT and TPP taking time to communicate internally, military procurement is vital to Taiwan's security.
Tsai said that during the break he spoke with Fu, who said that the NT$800 billion proposal was Hsu’s lone opinion, and the KMT caucus needs to internally discuss the matter.
Arms procurement is a high-profile issue, and the security of the Taiwan Strait relies on Taiwan making itself stronger, Tsai said, adding that the public has now seen the differing opinions within the KMT.
Even if the KMT settles on an NT$800 billion version, there are still commercial procurements and domestic manufacturing to consider, Tsai said.
If the special act faces this many hurdles, reviewing future budgets would be even harder, he added.
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