Premier Cho Urges Swift Legislative Budget Review Over Price and Salary Fears

Premier Cho Jung-tai recently called on the Legislative Yuan regarding the central government's general budget and supplementary budget proposals, expressing hope that the Legislative Yuan will complete the third reading of this year's central government supplementary budget proposal by the end of November. The Executive Yuan pointed out that this supplementary budget plays a critical role in stabilizing oil and electricity operations, enhancing national energy resilience, and maintaining the stability of livelihood prices. However, the Executive Yuan also candidly stated that if the relevant budget proposals cannot be successfully reviewed and approved before the end of this year, not only will the promotion of energy-related policies be hindered, but numerous increased subsidies involving grassroots livelihoods and the civil service system will also face legal hurdles. This could lead to the complete invalidation of increased social welfare allowances and military, public servant, and teacher allowances, sparking high levels of concern across all sectors.

The core of this budget controversy lies in the supplementary budget proposed by the Executive Yuan to respond to fluctuations in international energy prices and domestic economic conditions. Amid global geopolitical and supply chain changes, state-owned enterprises such as Taiwan Power Company and CPC Corporation have long faced immense financial pressure. Without government budget injections or timely adjustments, these pressures could in turn impact domestic oil and electricity prices, triggering comprehensive price fluctuations. The Executive Yuan emphasized that one of the primary purposes of the supplementary budget is to stabilize oil and electricity operations and prevent a surge in basic livelihood costs. Through budgetary support, the government can absorb a portion of the costs while ensuring the stability and security of domestic energy supply, which is crucial for maintaining the stable development of the macroeconomy.

In addition to energy and price stability, this supplementary budget also involves the actual wallets of the general public and grassroots military personnel, public servants, and teachers. The Executive Yuan specifically pointed out that the budget includes multiple social welfare spending increases that have already been implemented, as well as the retroactively disbursed professional allowances and managerial duty allowances for military personnel, public servants, and teachers starting from July 1st of this year. These policies, which concern public welfare and the morale of public servants, were initially promoted step-by-step based on the administrative department's planning and fiscal condition. However, if the budget proposal fails to complete the statutory review process before the end of the fiscal year, the administrative agencies will lose the corresponding statutory funding authorization. This means that increased funding that has already been disbursed or is scheduled to be disbursed will likely fail to be cleared due to the budget deadlock, or even be forced to a halt, directly impacting the livelihood subsidies of vulnerable groups and the rights and interests of public officials.

From the practical perspectives of the constitutional system and budget review, the budgetary offense and defense between the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan has always been the focus of Taiwan's political scene. According to the provisions of the Budget Act, both the annual general budget and supplementary budgets must pass three readings in the Legislative Yuan and be promulgated by the President before funds can be utilized. If the review progress of the Legislative Yuan is delayed, especially when facing party caucus deadlocks or political maneuvering, it often exerts substantial pressure on government governance. The Executive Yuan's public early warning at this time, clearly pointing out the consequence that "allowances will become invalid if the budget does not pass," serves on one hand to pressure the legislature in hopes of accelerating the review progress; on the other hand, based on administrative transparency, it explains the potential collateral risks of the policies to the general public in advance, preventing greater public grievance and social disturbance caused by the budget invalidation when the time comes.

Examining the schedule pressure of this supplementary budget proposal, the November-end third-reading deadline set by the Executive Yuan is actually intended to reserve one month for subsequent administrative operations. Because a massive budget proposal still requires complex procedures after passing the third reading, such as promulgation by the Office of the President, fund allocation by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, and preparatory disbursement operations by various ministries and local governments. If it is passed reluctantly in late December or even the final days of the year, it would be an almost mission impossible for administrative agencies to complete the clearance and disbursement of all funds before the fiscal year-end settlement. Therefore, the end of November is indeed a critical defense line to ensure the smooth execution of this year's budget and prevent a year-end gridlock.

Looking at the overall situation, this budget review not only tests the consensus of ruling and opposition legislators on livelihood issues, but also directly tests the government's fiscal planning and crisis-management capabilities. Whether social welfare allowances and military, public servant, and teacher allowances will fall through due to the budget deadlock depends entirely on the review efficiency and party negotiation results of the Legislative Yuan in the coming month. At a time when livelihood prices are soaring and the public faces heavy living pressures, whether the ruling and opposition parties can set aside political differences and prioritize the supplementary budget proposal concerning the substantial interests of the people and national energy security will be an important indicator for the future development of the political situation, and the entire public is also watching the performance of the legislature with wide eyes.