Taiwan government accused of trying to ‘bypass legislature’ amid bitter funding row

The Taiwanese government has sparked fresh controversy by refusing to enforce amendments passed by the opposition-controlled legislature about local government funding.

The move risks deepening a political stand-off and has drawn criticism that the island’s leader William Lai Ching-te was “bypassing the legislature when you can’t win”.

The dispute centres on revisions to a law about how the central government distributes revenue to local authorities.

Observers said the clash had escalated well beyond that issue, exposing unresolved constitutional fault lines and paralysing relations between the executive and legislature. They added that it also threatened to have knock-on effects on the annual budget review.

On Monday, Premier Cho Jung-tai announced that the cabinet would refuse to countersign the amendments passed by the legislature last month – the first time in Taiwan’s history that a cabinet had declined to countersign legislation approved after its third and final reading.

“The decision aims to safeguard our constitution,” Cho said, insisting the move was lawful despite opposition accusations of executive overreach.

South China Morning Post