KMT lawmakers boycott defense budget negotiationsBy Fang Wei-li and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerChinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday boycotted cross-caucus negotiations on the special defense budget, instead submitting a supplementary resolution that demands all US arms sales undergo separate legislative reviews — a move Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators criticized as an attempt to stall vital military funding. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Wang An-hsiang, right, speaks during cross-party negotiations alongside Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. The KMT’s previous proposal capped defense spending at NT$380 billion and would allow special funding to be added later. The KMT proposal was far lower than the Executive Yuan’s proposal of NT$1.25 trillion over eight years. DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) criticized the resolution, saying that the KMT was withholding funding that the nation and frontline troops desperately need.

Source: Taipei Times April 09, 2026 17:15 UTC