00:00Nearly halfway into the year, Taiwan's legislature is finally moving forward with the government's
00:062026 general budget.
00:08Ruling and opposition party lawmakers have agreed to move the budget to the next stage
00:13after Premier Zhu Rongtai gives a report on it next week.
00:17But a separate $40 billion US dollar special defense budget put forth by President Lai
00:23Qingde is still being debated in the legislature.
00:28For months, the United States, which sells most military equipment to Taiwan, has been
00:34pushing for the budget to pass.
00:36One retired US admiral is in Taiwan meeting with Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu to make
00:42their case.
00:42And I'm excited to be here with you because Jason tells me you're the man who will solve
00:48the defense bill problem.
00:49The ruling Democratic Progressive Party says the full budget is needed to fend off Chinese
00:54aggression.
00:55But the opposition Kuomintang and the Taiwan People's Party have both proposed alternative
01:00budgets, committing a lot less than Lai's version.
01:04They say Lai's proposal does not make it clear where the money would go and when Taiwan would
01:09receive the weapons.
01:19But defense minister Wellington Kuomintang says the entire budget is necessary for the country's
01:25security.
01:26国民党说一定要均购嘛,对不对?
01:31那我们会提出一些自治跟商购的项目。
01:34那么在这个委员会里面我们做个专报。
01:36With the general budget now making progress, the question now is, what will come of the
01:42special budget?
01:43Howard Zung and Leslie Liao for Taiwan Plus.
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