TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's government is weighing the potential expansion of its market intervention capabilities as global markets reel from recent U.S. trade policies. Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) announced Thursday (April 10) that officials would address enlarging the National Financial Stabilization Fund (國安基金), Taiwan's sovereign market stabilization mechanism, "at an appropriate time." The statement came days after the fund began deploying resources to shore up Taiwan's stock market, which plummeted alongside global exchanges following U.S. President Donald Trump's implementation of reciprocal tariff policies.
The market rescue fund, which has authority to deploy up to NT$500 billion (US$15.2 billion) in government resources, serves as Taiwan's primary defense mechanism against extreme market volatility. Taiwan's parliament, the Legislative Yuan, convened its Finance Committee (立法院財委會) for an emergency session with the Ministry of Finance (MOF, 財政部) and related government agencies to assess the wide-ranging implications of Trump's protectionist policies on Taiwan's financial markets, currency stability, economic growth projections, consumer prices, and property values.
During the parliamentary session, Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨), Taiwan's governing party, questioned whether the stabilization fund's current resources would prove adequate given the scale of market turbulence. In response, Minister Chuang offered measured reassurance, confirming that ministry officials had conducted thorough evaluations of market conditions and remained prepared to increase the fund's financial firepower if circumstances warranted such action. The finance chief struck a cautiously optimistic tone, pointing to early indicators of market recovery in recent trading sessions.
The market intervention draws its legal authority from the "Statute for the Establishment and Administration of the National Financial Stabilization Fund" (國家金融安定基金設置及管理條例), which authorizes secured financing backed by government-held shares in public and private enterprises along with postal savings reserves. These combined resources establish the fund's NT$500 billion (US$15.2 billion) ceiling for market operations. Market analysts noted this represents the ninth time authorities have activated the emergency mechanism since its creation, though in keeping with standard protocol, officials will not disclose specific intervention amounts or targeted sectors until after the stabilization operations conclude.
