Taiwan's central government has cut NT$5.41 billion from New Taipei's 2027 subsidies for MRT construction, setting off a partisan dispute. The Kuomintang (KMT) legislative caucus demanded on Wednesday that the money be paid this year, "not a cent less, not a day late," CNA reported. Mayor Hou Yu-ih said on Monday, in remarks carried by CNA, that the city would keep pressing hard for the money and had written to the transport ministry seeking a priority supplementary allocation.
Which projects lost funding? Caucus secretary-general Hsu Yu-chen said the cut comprises NT$570 million for the Sanying Line, NT$4.7 billion for the New Taipei section of the Keelung MRT and the whole Danhai Light Rail amount. Hsu said the transport ministry's budget for local MRT projects next year had surged 5.6-fold to NT$45.3 billion, and asked whether New Taipei residents must be second-class citizens because the city is not run by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
What is the KMT asking for? The caucus urged Su Chiao-hui, the DPP's New Taipei mayoral candidate and a sitting legislator, to win back what it called residents' "MRT lifeline money." Chief deputy secretary-general Hung Meng-kai called on all 12 of New Taipei's legislators to lobby together and said Su should not turn up only at election time for ribbon-cuttings. Li Si-chuan, the KMT's mayoral candidate, said at the launch of a supporters' association in Zhonghe that the city had requested the money in line with construction progress, and urged Su to speak up for New Taipei, CNA reported.
How has the DPP responded? A spokesperson for Su's campaign said central funding follows each project's construction progress and tendering, that the ministry's NT$49.9 billion for local MRT construction in 2027 is the highest ever, and that the KMT should not distort policy debate for electoral ends. Su, repeating those figures at a media interview, said the total "will not be a cent less" and pledged to watch the central government closely.
