KMT Accused of Favoring Factory, DPP Decries Suppression; KMT Calls It Politics

Kaohsiung and Pingtung’s sheltered workshops have recently reported receiving inquiries from the central or local branches of the Kuomintang (KMT) about Mid‑Autumn Festival gift boxes. After requesting quotations and detailed information, the inquiries stalled, sparking a political spat. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Wu Zeng held a press conference today, accusing the KMT of deliberately freezing and cutting budget items during Legislative Yuan reviews of the central government’s overall budget and related bills, thereby jeopardising the operations of social‑welfare agencies and vulnerable groups. Wu went further, alleging that the KMT first slashes budgets to suppress the disadvantaged and then, in practice, “requests quotes only to abandon the order,” using charitable activities as a mere political showcase.

In response to the DPP’s sweeping accusations and the ensuing media pressure, senior KMT officials quickly countered, urging all parties to “stop and refrain from further political manipulation.” The KMT emphasized that it is normal for political parties or their representatives to inquire about festive gifts from social‑welfare institutions and sheltered workshops as part of routine commercial quotation and market‑assessment processes. Orders may fall through due to budget constraints, adjustments in procurement items, or mismatched quantities—common occurrences in business practice. The KMT contended that the DPP is exaggerating and distorting an ordinary commercial interaction, turning it into a political attack that not only harms well‑run sheltered workshops a second time but also seeks to divert scrutiny from the ruling party’s handling of domestic and economic livelihood issues.

The background of the “abandoned order” controversy lies in the increasingly fierce battles over the central government’s budget in recent Legislative Yuan sessions. In Taiwan’s political arena, each budget review session sees the ruling and opposition parties adopt divergent stances on allocations and cuts to social‑welfare budgets, the Labor Ministry’s employment subsidy fund for persons with disabilities, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s related grants. Opposition parties, citing fiscal oversight, often propose freezes or reductions for departmental operating costs, promotional expenses, or specific subsidy programmes; the ruling party typically argues that such budgets protect the rights of grassroots citizens and vulnerable groups and should not be compromised. The sheltered‑workshop incident quickly escalated because it touched on public sensitivities regarding the care of the disadvantaged, the distribution of social‑welfare resources, and party image.

From a political‑communication perspective, the dispute highlights how, in Taiwan’s highly polarized climate, any issue involving vulnerable groups or public‑interest initiatives can be weaponised by both camps. For the DPP, accusing the opposition of “cutting budgets first, then abandoning orders” helps cast the KMT as insincere and even hostile to the disadvantaged, reinforcing cohesion among its supporters. For the KMT, failure to promptly rebut such claims could erode its moral authority on social‑welfare matters. The media duel therefore extends beyond a single procurement case to a broader contest over party reputation and public trust.

Nevertheless, the most innocent parties are the frontline sheltered workshops and their employees with disabilities. Sheltered workshops provide protected employment settings, helping people with disabilities acquire skills and integrate into society; their operations rely on stable community support and concrete orders. Whether framed as political accusations by the ruling party or as commercial explanations by the opposition, the prolonged exchange of accusations does little to alleviate the operational challenges faced by these workshops and may divert public attention away from genuine charitable concerns. Observers hope that, after the political sparring subsides, lawmakers will return to substantive support for vulnerable groups, offering consistent economic assistance so that sheltered workshops can focus on their core mission of caring for people with disabilities without being caught in partisan competition.

(Source: Central News Agency)