TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Executive Yuan (行政院) on Thursday (Jan. 23) held a press conference without a sign language interpreter for the first time, highlighting budget cuts that have sparked significant concern. Michelle Lee (李慧芝), spokesperson for the Executive Yuan, apologized to the audience for the lack of sign language services, explaining that the budget for the Department of Information Services (行政院新聞傳播處) was entirely eliminated, preventing the hiring of interpreters.
During the live stream, the interpreter's absence was acknowledged, with claims that the budget was cut by opposition parties. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) addressed the media, expressing worry over the recent Legislative Yuan approval of the 2025 central government budget, which saw a reduction of nearly NT$210 billion, adding that the Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) collaborated to enforce these significant cuts. Cho emphasized the impact on essential services, including the inability to hire sign language interpreters.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) revealed that the Executive Yuan had allocated NT$1.5 billion, with NT$1 billion earmarked for personnel expenses. However, operational costs faced a NT$200 million cut, severely affecting departments like the Department of Information Services. Kung warned that the Executive Yuan could only sustain operations until March under current budget constraints. He stressed the need to suspend certain activities to cope with the financial shortfall.
The government now faces the challenge of addressing these budgetary limitations while ensuring essential services remain uninterrupted.
