KAOHSIUNG (TVBS News) — Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (高雄市長陳其邁) voiced dissatisfaction on Tuesday (Dec. 24) over the recent amendment to the "Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures" (財政收支劃分法), citing what he sees as an unfair distribution of tax funds. He criticized the nationwide lowest increase for Kaohsiung City in centrally allocated tax revenues.
Mayor Chen questioned the fairness in the allocation, noting Kaohsiung's increase of NT$24.5 billion, or 49%, compared to Taipei's NT$41.6 billion, or 59.8%. He argued for more discussion time to address the north-south disparity. Chen claimed that the Legislative Yuan (立法院) needs more time to discuss balancing the gap between the North and South.
Chen revealed that Kuomintang (國民黨) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) had assured him that the financial allocation law would not pass this session and that there was room for discussion. Unexpectedly, the Legislative Yuan passed the bill without deliberation. Chen called on the Legislative Yuan to propose a reconsideration, emphasizing the importance of setting aside partisan differences for better local development discussions.
Ko explained that the party's top echelons determined the timing for passing the financial allocation law, highlighting the Legislative Yuan's rapidly changing dynamics. Ko stated that the situation in the Legislative Yuan is ever-changing, and she hopes there will be more room for negotiation between the ruling and opposition parties.
Ko also mentioned that last Thursday night, Democratic Progressive Party (民進黨) legislators unexpectedly locked the legislative chamber, escalating tensions beyond expectations.
