Rental Subsidy Funding: Central-Local Cost-Sharing 'Not Unreasonable,' Says Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang
Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang stated on June 3 that the proposal for the central and local governments to share the cost of rental subsidies, totaling approximately NT$8 billion annually, is not unreasonable. She argued that local governments collected about NT$266.7 billion in housing-justice-related taxes in 2025. In response to opposition from some city and county mayors, she said the matter would be reviewed and improved.
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- 📰 Published: June 3, 2026 at 11:12
- 🔍 Collected: June 3, 2026 at 11:24 (12 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 6, 2026 at 22:15 (82h 50m after Collected)
（Central News Agency, Reporter Huang Li-yun, Taipei, June 3）The proposal to shift rental subsidy funding back to a shared responsibility between the central and local governments has sparked controversy. Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang stated today that local governments received approximately NT$266.7 billion in taxes related to housing justice last year, including land value increment tax, house tax, and land tax. Therefore, the central government's request for local governments to share NT$8 billion in rental subsidy costs is not unreasonable.
The Legislative Yuan's Internal Administration Committee invited Minister Liu, National Police Agency Director-General Chang Jung-hsing, Minister of Transportation Chen Shih-kai, and Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin for a special report and Q&A session on "Standards for Installing Speed Cameras, Implementation Effectiveness, and Measures to Adjust Unreasonable Enforcement Points" and "Responding to the Surge in Drug-Impaired Driving Cases Due to the Proliferation of New Drugs and How to Strengthen Enforcement Capabilities and Prevention Strategies."
In a pre-meeting media interview, when asked about the proposal for central-local cost-sharing of rental subsidies and opposition from some local government heads, Minister Liu provided the aforementioned explanation.
Minister Liu stated that the total funding needed for the rental subsidy program is about NT$8 billion. She also noted that following the amendment of the Financial Allocation Act, the central government's tax allocation to local governments increased by approximately NT$400 billion.
She argued that from the perspective of housing justice, land use, and housing utilization policies, cost-sharing between the central and local governments is not unreasonable.
Regarding the dissenting voices from some local governments, Minister Liu said the matter would be reviewed and improved. However, she emphasized that the three key policies—rental subsidies, property management services (baozu daiguan), and direct housing construction—are the most important for implementing the Housing Act, including support for disadvantaged groups and young married couples, and require joint efforts from both the central and local governments.
When asked about the Straits Exchange Foundation's (SEF) recent announcement that followers of the I-Kuan Tao religion were detained in Fujian and Guangdong, China, in May, and its call for followers not to travel to China, Minister Liu stated that about 20 people have been reported to the Ministry of the Interior and the Mainland Affairs Council, but she believes the actual number, including unreported cases, is around 70 to 80, involving various religious groups.
Minister Liu reiterated her hope for cross-strait exchanges based on equality and mutual respect for religious beliefs, allowing people to travel safely to China for exchanges. However, she stated that detaining people for other or unclear reasons is not a good phenomenon for cross-strait exchanges.
Finally, when asked about Kuomintang Taoyuan City Councilor Chan Chiang-tsun repeatedly challenging the Ministry of the Interior over the issue of Chinese identity cards, Minister Liu responded that some issues are self-initiated and self-executed, and as far as she understands, one does not need a Chinese identity card to aspire to be a spokesperson for the Kuomintang. (Editor: Lin Shu-hui) 1150603
The Legislative Yuan's Internal Administration Committee invited Minister Liu, National Police Agency Director-General Chang Jung-hsing, Minister of Transportation Chen Shih-kai, and Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin for a special report and Q&A session on "Standards for Installing Speed Cameras, Implementation Effectiveness, and Measures to Adjust Unreasonable Enforcement Points" and "Responding to the Surge in Drug-Impaired Driving Cases Due to the Proliferation of New Drugs and How to Strengthen Enforcement Capabilities and Prevention Strategies."
In a pre-meeting media interview, when asked about the proposal for central-local cost-sharing of rental subsidies and opposition from some local government heads, Minister Liu provided the aforementioned explanation.
Minister Liu stated that the total funding needed for the rental subsidy program is about NT$8 billion. She also noted that following the amendment of the Financial Allocation Act, the central government's tax allocation to local governments increased by approximately NT$400 billion.
She argued that from the perspective of housing justice, land use, and housing utilization policies, cost-sharing between the central and local governments is not unreasonable.
Regarding the dissenting voices from some local governments, Minister Liu said the matter would be reviewed and improved. However, she emphasized that the three key policies—rental subsidies, property management services (baozu daiguan), and direct housing construction—are the most important for implementing the Housing Act, including support for disadvantaged groups and young married couples, and require joint efforts from both the central and local governments.
When asked about the Straits Exchange Foundation's (SEF) recent announcement that followers of the I-Kuan Tao religion were detained in Fujian and Guangdong, China, in May, and its call for followers not to travel to China, Minister Liu stated that about 20 people have been reported to the Ministry of the Interior and the Mainland Affairs Council, but she believes the actual number, including unreported cases, is around 70 to 80, involving various religious groups.
Minister Liu reiterated her hope for cross-strait exchanges based on equality and mutual respect for religious beliefs, allowing people to travel safely to China for exchanges. However, she stated that detaining people for other or unclear reasons is not a good phenomenon for cross-strait exchanges.
Finally, when asked about Kuomintang Taoyuan City Councilor Chan Chiang-tsun repeatedly challenging the Ministry of the Interior over the issue of Chinese identity cards, Minister Liu responded that some issues are self-initiated and self-executed, and as far as she understands, one does not need a Chinese identity card to aspire to be a spokesperson for the Kuomintang. (Editor: Lin Shu-hui) 1150603