TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) expressed his willingness to address the legislature to explain his administration’s policies, including a proposed special military spending package, but opposes holding a question-and-answer session.
Lai made the remarks in an SET News interview broadcast Sunday evening, as opposition lawmakers from the KMT and TPP blocked his proposed eight-year NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) special defense budget for the fourth time, per CNA.
The president said he supports addressing lawmakers, but said a follow-up question-and-answer session would not be feasible under existing interpretations by the Constitutional Court’s grand justices.
“If the president is compelled to answer questions in the legislature, future presidents would also be forced to endure the same process,” Lai said, adding that such a precedent could be detrimental to the nation’s constitutional order.
Responding to calls by the KMT and TPP to impeach him, Lai said, “Society will have its own justice.” He criticized opposition parties for what he described as contradictory positions, saying they had praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and embraced Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) while seeking to impeach Taiwan’s democratically elected president.
On the stalled special defense budget, Lai said responsibility lay with those who had blocked it. “The one who tied the knot must untie it,” he said, urging opposition lawmakers to pass a defense budget they publicly claim to support.
Lai said all parties in the legislature should be allowed to discuss the defense spending proposal openly and that Taiwanese society has sufficient expertise to judge whether objections raised by lawmakers are reasonable.
He said his main concern at present is the KMT’s denial of three preconditions for a reported meeting between KMT Chair Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) and Xi. According to media reports, those conditions included blocking the special defense budget, blocking amendments related to national security, and the KMT abandoning its anti-communist stance.
Lai said it is worth observing whether the public believes such a meeting could take place without preconditions, adding that people may question whether the reported conditions are the real reasons behind the opposition’s obstruction of defense and national security legislation.
The president also criticized the KMT’s legislative conduct in recent years, saying it had forced multiple controversial bills through second readings without committee review, which he said violated democratic procedures. He added that the party has been unwilling to review the arms procurement bill and the central government’s general budget, actions he said run counter to the spirit of democracy.
Lai contrasted the current situation with past legislative practice under former Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), saying Wang presided over cross-party negotiations that clearly defined the responsibilities of the legislative and executive branches.
“When there was no consensus in committee reviews, Legislative Speaker Wang would convene repeated cross-party negotiations,” Lai said, noting that some controversial bills were discussed over several legislative sessions until a compromise was reached.
Turning to cross-strait relations, Lai said Taiwanese people harbor goodwill toward China, citing public donations following natural disasters there and noting that more than two million Taiwanese travel to China each year, contributing to its economy.
“If China understands this, it should be grateful to Taiwan,” Lai said. He added that Taiwan’s goodwill has been fully demonstrated but said Beijing has “turned a deaf ear and a blind eye,” a situation he described as regrettable.
