00:00Thirty-seven U.S. lawmakers signed a letter on Thursday urging Taiwan's opposition parties to pass President Lai Qingda's record
00:08$40 billion U.S. special defense budget.
00:11They are among a growing number of U.S. politicians to publicly urge Taiwan's opposition to support the spending bill.
00:19They say Taiwan's defense must be taken seriously amid rising threats from China.
00:24You look at our first president, George Washington, you know, he said the best thing you can do to, you
00:29know, have peace is to prepare for war.
00:32And so I hope that the people of Taiwan are thinking in those terms and the military spending should reflect
00:41that.
00:42Lai's special budget aims to boost Taiwan's ability to fend off a potential attack from China,
00:48which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to take it.
00:54The bill earmarks funding for missiles, drones and reserve force training.
00:59Taiwan's opposition-held legislature has repeatedly blocked the proposal, calling for greater oversight.
01:04It has instead progressed a watered-down $12 billion U.S. version proposed by the smaller Taiwan People's Party.
01:12TPP founder Ke Wenzher said his party would support the full spending bill, but only if it makes sense.
01:29The main opposition, Kuomintang, says it respects the U.S. lawmakers' opinions,
01:34but again emphasizes the need for oversight of the special defense budget.
01:50The legislature will be in recess for the Lunar New Year,
01:54so attention is now on whether Taiwan's opposition parties will be willing to compromise
01:59when they return to session later this month.
02:02Scott Huang and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.
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