TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), the Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) caucus whip, criticized premier on Monday (Jan. 20) for incompetence, urging him to resign if he cannot manage the NT$2.9 trillion budget. The TPP has proposed an approximately NT$100 billion reduction from the central government budget.
The Legislative Yuan (立法院) last Friday approved a historic cut of NT$93.975 billion, backed by an alliance between the Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) and TPP. Legislators will continue to address budget proposals, anticipating a fierce voting session. Huang condemned Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) for allegedly spreading misinformation through online campaigns instead of solving issues.
Huang emphasized the TPP's opposition to allocating NT$100 billion to Taiwan Power Company (台電) within the NT$3.2 trillion central government budget for 2025. He noted the TPP's open communication with ministries over the past few days, accusing high-level officials of misleading the public and demanding Cho's resignation. Huang affirmed the TPP's commitment to responsibly negotiating final budget cuts with cooperative departments.
Huang urged against using the budget review to incite societal conflict, advocating for a pragmatic and rational approach to inflated administrative budgets. The Ministry of the Interior's (內政部) National Land Management Agency (國土管理署) claimed the TPP's proposal to freeze NT$4.1 billion would impact social housing, which Huang clarified as a zero-dollar cut.
