TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Cabinet said Thursday it has no money to fund free lunches at public schools nationwide, citing a weakened central budget under the revenue-sharing law.
Taipei City on Tuesday announced that lunches at all public elementary and junior high schools will be free of charge. Taichung, Keelung, and Kaohsiung introducing similar policies at public schools.
New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said on Wednesday the city invested NT$1.35 billion (US$42.74 million) to subsidize school lunches and improve quality.
Hou added that making lunches fully free would require NT$4.6 billion. He added any adjustment would depend on fiscal conditions and hoped the central government would propose a unified policy to prevent disparities among municipalities.
Cabinet Spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said problems with the revised Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures have led to uneven distribution of resources, creating wide disparities among local governments. While some localities hope for central government assistance, Lee said the act has significantly weakened its fiscal capacity.
With NT$300 billion in borrowing planned this year, Lee said there is no leeway to provide support. Lee urged local government leaders to call on lawmakers from their constituencies to promptly review the Cabinet's version of amendments to the act, so that students nationwide can receive more balanced subsidies.
On Nov. 14, last year, the opposition-led legislature passed amendments to the revenue-sharing act, which stipulated that local governments would receive a larger share of central government revenue. However, on Dec. 14, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) refused to sign the amendments into law, citing fiscal stability and procedural concerns, creating legislative deadlock.
