Civic group, parties slam opposition over budgetBy Chen Chih-cheng / Staff reporterA civic group and two political parties yesterday condemned lawmakers of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan Peple’s Party (TPP) for “disregarding the livelihoods of Taiwanese” by enjoying their year-end bonuses despite “failing to do their job” to review the government’s general budget. Representatives from civic groups including Citizen Congress Watch hold placards at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. “If a legislator’s performance is zero all year and they neglect even their basic duties, why should the public have to pay each of them a NT$300,000 year-end bonus?” he said. TSP secretary-general Ma Yin-hsian (馬依翔) criticized the KMT’s argument that they would only approve the committee review of the general budget and the special defense budget if the government promised additional pay raises for the military, and funding for police, firefighters and coast guard pensions. The civic group has a fundamental misunderstanding, failing to grasp that the essence of democracy is that power must be subject to continuous and public oversight, not blindly protected, the TPP said.

Source: Taipei Times February 09, 2026 16:09 UTC