TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) decided Tuesday (July 29) not to propose a veto against the special cash distribution act backed by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨). Government officials stated that the Executive Yuan (行政院), Taiwan's cabinet, is still deliberating on the follow-up to the special regulations passed by the legislature.
The first wave of mass recalls concluded with the failure of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) to control the Legislative Yuan (立法院), Taiwan's parliament. Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), secretary-general of the DPP, admitted that the widespread distribution of cash was indeed a significant issue affecting the vote. The recall campaign highlighted growing political tensions over fiscal policy and government spending priorities.
The Executive Yuan proposed a NT$410 billion (around US$13.9 billion) special draft bill to strengthen economic, social, and homeland security resilience in response to U.S. tariff impacts. The Legislative Yuan passed the Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) version of the bill July 11, which removed a NT$100 billion (around US$3.4 billion) allocation to Taiwan Power Company (TPC, 台電) and stipulated a NT$10,000 (around US$338) cash distribution to all citizens.
The Executive Yuan has repeatedly asserted that distributing cash to all citizens would require the government to borrow NT$101.4 billion (around US$3.4 billion). Cho explained July 17 the use of budget surpluses from 2021 to 2024, emphasizing an available accumulated surplus of approximately NT$443.6 billion (around US$15 billion). The premier's explanation addressed concerns about the fiscal impact of the proposed cash handout program.
