Taiwan's Cabinet Slashes Local Government Subsidies

TaiwanPlus News

Taiwan's mayors and magistrates are reacting to a central government cut in local government subsidies. The country's cabinet says it has no choice as it grapples with a 6% cut in its 2025 budget.

Transcript

00:00An inauspicious start to the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan's second-largest city, Kaohsiung,

00:06as the city's mayor reacts to news that local government subsidies are being slashed.

00:11The southbound traffic jams are just starting, and the result is such a disaster that people

00:16are in tears. The whole New Year's mood is very bad.

00:20Taiwan's central government is facing a US$6.35 billion budget cut, or more than 6% of the

00:27proposed total. Passed by the opposition-dominated legislature, which says it wants to cut down

00:33on wasteful government spending. The country's premier describes the cuts as suicidal and

00:38said they will impact everything from energy prices to national defence. And, officials

00:43say, if the central government has no funds, there's nothing to pass on to local governments.

00:57Taiwan's government is split. Although the Democratic Progressive Party won a historic

01:07third term in a row in the presidency, the legislature is in the hands of two major opposition

01:12groups. This deep political division has caused brawls inside the legislature as the opposition

01:18passed controversial bills and prompted tens of thousands of people to take to the streets

01:27in protest. Both sides accused the other of playing politics with the budget.

01:36This is a vicious cycle. The blue and white are crazy, and there's no difference. And it's a hateful budget cut.

01:41We think it's a pity, a regret.

01:44If freezing 3% will affect the overall operation of the central government, then freezing 50%

01:49would mean corrupting the entire county government.

01:52This latest move from the cabinet means local subsidy projects have just half their normal

01:57funding. But welfare subsidies are protected. Taiwan's cabinet has urged lawmakers to rethink

02:03this budget before it's too late, with local officials on both sides of the political fence

02:08already feeling the pinch.

02:11Klein Wang and Rick Lowatt for Taiwan Plus.

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