TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The KMT legislative caucus on Friday withdrew proposals to freeze the Cabinet’s NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) comprehensive program for developing Taiwan’s drone industry and another NT$19.2 billion in drone-related spending, citing its support for the industry.
The KMT had initially proposed cutting NT$63.4 billion in combined spending from the two items before changing its proposal to freeze the spending, per Liberty Times. The move drew criticism from the DPP, which argued that freezing the funds would delay the country's drone development and harm the industry in the long term.
The KMT withdrew the freeze proposal Friday and called on the Cabinet to phase in its drone industry development program to ensure stable funding for the industry, per ETtoday. The party said support for national defense should not be used as an excuse to avoid legislative oversight and called on the Cabinet to subject future programs to oversight mechanisms.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said Friday that the Legislature could pass the 2026 budget with fewer opposition-proposed cuts than in previous years, per CNews. She said that after speaking by phone with Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and KMT Caucus Convener Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), the proposal to freeze the drone-related spending would be withdrawn.
Lu called on the government to allocate drone-related funding to Taichung, Changhua County, Miaoli County, Nantou County, and Yunlin County, saying that approving the spending without cuts would help secure funding for local industries. She said the government had not allocated drone-related funding to the five areas and argued that they should have received funding as potential drone development hubs.
Lu also called on the government to establish drone flight-testing areas in central Taiwan, saying that requiring local companies to send prototypes to southern Taiwan for testing has caused inconvenience for businesses. Taichung Deputy Mayor Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) had previously called on the government to allocate a similar amount of drone funding to Taichung as was allocated to Chiayi and Tainan, at roughly NT$10 million, per China Times.
Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) questioned the government’s plans to allocate robotics development funding to Tainan and drone development funding to Chiayi, per Storm Media. He said that while he supported the government’s efforts to promote balanced regional development, Taichung has one of the most complete supply chains for both industries and should play a leading rather than supporting role.
Chiang said focusing on southern Taiwan while neglecting central Taiwan would weaken Taiwan’s ability to compete in international markets.
