TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Legislative Yuan Finance Committee on Monday froze NT$30 million (US$950,000) in funding for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) over Taiwan’s membership designation as “Taipei, China.”
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said the Ministry of Finance has budgeted NT$126.84 million for “contribution expenditures,” an increase of NT$44.26 million from 2024, all directed to ADB-related funds, per CNA. He said Taiwan’s designation remains “Taipei, China” despite protests and no meaningful correction, and proposed cutting NT$3 million in spending, citing rising defense costs.
Lai said Taiwan is a founding member of the bank but has still been downgraded. He argued that aside from the annual membership fee of NT$1 million, “nothing else should be given.”
DPP lawmakers Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城) and Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) proposed freezing NT$2 million from a NT$33.2 million allocation to the ADB Domestic Resource Mobilization Trust Fund, CNA reported. They said Taiwan’s name has been downgraded due to Chinese influence since 1986 and called for a written report from the Ministry of Finance within two months before funds can be released.
DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said the ADB appears to single out Taiwan unfairly despite annual protests and continued payments. He said funding should be withheld until the bank addresses the issue.
Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) said Taiwan has repeatedly raised the issue with the bank, but noted it has not been treated differently in procedural matters, according to CNA. She said it is more important for Taiwan to maintain substantive participation than risk exclusion.
Department of International Fiscal Affairs Director-General Lee Ming-chi (李明機) said donations are benchmarked against contributions by other donor countries, increasing by about 0.4% each time, which is why the total has risen by more than NT$40 million. He added that if payments are withheld, Taiwan’s name would be published in the official gazette, and reductions to the Asian Development Trust Fund could shrink its scale and affect users such as Palau.
After discussion, the committee resolved to freeze NT$30 million until a positive response is received from the bank and a written report is submitted. Most other proposed cuts or freezes were converted into conditional freezes or reporting requirements.
