TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) called for party unity Wednesday after Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) criticized him for repeatedly missing negotiations on the central government budget.
CNA reported that Fu said it was a simple dispute and that harmony within the party was important. He thanked Han for his work and said the KMT needed to remain united.
Han criticized Fu on Tuesday while chairing cross-party talks on the 2026 central government budget. Fu was absent and had not authorized KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) to make decisions on his behalf.
Han said Fu should attend the negotiations himself, authorize Lin to represent the caucus, or step down as caucus whip. He also questioned why Fu continued to hold the position while neither attending the talks nor giving another party official authority to negotiate.
Fu said his absence was not intended to show disrespect toward Han or other party caucuses. He said he stayed away as a peaceful protest against what he described as the Cabinet's failure to respect the legislature, per CTS News.
Fu said the Cabinet had refused to implement some laws passed by lawmakers and had ignored agreements reached through legislative negotiations. He said his absence was meant to draw attention to what he saw as an imbalance of power between the Cabinet and legislature.
Fu said the protest had achieved its purpose. He again thanked Han, saying they might use different methods but shared the goal of defending the legislature and improving governance.
KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) said Han was likely frustrated because he wanted lawmakers to complete the budget review quickly. She said some disputes were difficult to resolve and blamed the Cabinet for failing to respect laws passed by the legislature, per UDN.
Economic Daily News reported that the KMT and TPP, which together hold a legislative majority, have delayed the 2026 budget review for 349 days as of Wednesday, nearly a year after the Cabinet submitted it on Aug. 29, 2025.
The legislature may have to review the 2026 and 2027 budgets at the same time, as the Cabinet is due to submit the 2027 budget by the end of August. The overlap could complicate the review process, while some ministries may also face problems with funds already spent if lawmakers later freeze or cut parts of the delayed 2026 budget, per PTS.
