By KHT Staff. Image via the office of Lin Chih-hung.
KAOHSIUNG — Democratic Progressive Party city councilor Lin Chih-hung (林智鴻) called on Kuomintang mayoral candidate and legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) to support timely passage of next year’s central government budget after the Cabinet announced a conditional timetable for NT$10,000 cash payments.
Under the Finance Ministry’s plan, registration for bank transfers could open Jan. 25, 2027, with the first payments arriving Jan. 26. That schedule depends on the legislature passing the 2027 budget by Jan. 5 and the president promulgating it by Jan. 20. ATM withdrawals would begin Feb. 15, followed by post office collection Feb. 22.
The proposed budget includes NT$235.7 billion for the payments, which the government describes as sharing the economic gains from artificial intelligence.
In comments reported by Liberty Times on Oct. 8, Lin accused KMT and Taiwan People’s Party legislators, including the KMT’s Ko, of delaying this year’s budget. He urged her to state publicly whether she would support completing next year’s review on schedule.
Lin also criticized competing KMT proposals for payments this year, arguing that they created conflicting promises about how much people would receive and when. He said residents wanted the proposed NT$10,000 payment delivered before Lunar New Year rather than another prolonged budget dispute.
Ko has previously expressed support for cash payments. In comments reported Aug. 17, she welcomed sharing the benefits of economic growth but questioned the DPP’s change of position on the policy. Those remarks preceded Lin’s latest criticism. The supplied Liberty Times report did not include her response to his Oct. 8 comments.
The proposed payment eligibility includes foreign nationals with permanent residency and certain foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens. The payment timetable remains subject to budget approval.
