TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Ruling and opposition parties agreed to pass an infrastructure spending bill to the review stage on Tuesday (Nov. 5), while a legislative deadlock over other government spending continued.

The proposal for spending on the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program was passed unanimously in the legislature. However, other government spending bills proposed by the Cabinet were rejected by opposition parties for the sixth time, per CNA.

Legislators also passed a proposal by Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators to increase central government spending on certain items. The proposal outlined spending for compensation payments under the Logging Ban Compensation for Lands Reserved for Indigenous Peoples Act, government food stock purchases, and health insurance.

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) thanked the legislature for passing the infrastructure spending bill to the review stage via Cabinet Spokesperson Li Hui-chih (李慧芝). Li said that despite the progress, many spending items still need to be passed to the review stage.

Li said these include spending on national security, road improvements, agriculture labor rights, and others. She added that a planned 3% salary increase for state employees may also be affected if the budget is not passed before the new year.

Legislators will meet again on Friday to vote on the budget bills. Li said the Cabinet hopes the legislature will respect the Constitution while working with the central government to progress legislation that benefits all people.

After the vote, sources within the Cabinet and the legislature said that members of the ruling and opposition parties would meet to discuss the budget bills. They said the exact time was yet to be finalized as Tuesday's meeting adjourned late in the evening.