KMT Blocks Special Drone Bill, Accuses DPP of Evading Normal Review

(Central News Agency, Reporter Wang Cheng-chung, Taipei, May 5) The KMT and TPP jointly blocked a draft "Unmanned Vehicle Industry Creation Special Act" proposed by DPP legislators. KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang said today that the DPP wants to use special legislation and special budgets to circumvent normal budget review, which is not about fostering industry but about hollowing out the legislature and trampling on fiscal discipline.

The Legislative Yuan today, under a KMT-TPP coalition, blocked the draft "Unmanned Vehicle Industry Creation Special Act" proposed by DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin, sending it back to the Procedure Committee and preventing it from being referred to committee. Chung said it was incomprehensible that the KMT and TPP, who claim to support Taiwan's drones and with Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen even talking about building a major drone industry city, would jointly block the proposal and stifle a new industry.

KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang issued a press release this evening stating that the KMT caucus fully supports the R&D and national strategic deployment of the drone industry, but "supporting industry" is by no means the same as "condoning patronage."

Lin stated that the Legislative Yuan last year passed the "Unmanned Vehicle Industry Development Coordinated Plan (2025-2030)," which plans to invest up to NT$44.2 billion in the drone industry. He accused the DPP government of trying to use "special acts" or "special budgets" to bypass normal budget review procedures, which is not about fostering industry but about hollowing out the legislature and undermining fiscal discipline.

Lin pointed out that the opposition parties are on the front line guarding the people's wallets and defending public funds, a duty given by the Constitution, and should not be arbitrarily labeled by the DPP with the political smear of "obstructing drone development."

Lin stated that over the past decade, the DPP has used the pretext of "emergency," "importance," and "national team" to bypass normal oversight, using restricted tenders and special budgets worth hundreds of billions to develop specific industries, using legality to cover up privilege, and distorting industrial development with public power.

Lin pointed out examples such as the black-box vaccine procurement, offshore wind power, and improper development of the solar photovoltaic industry with collusion between black gold interests, turning even the simple city of Tainan into a "city of gunfire." He said every one of these was under the banner of national development, but resulted in endless scandals, enrichment of specific factions, and ultimately paid for by taxpayers' money. The Taiwanese people have long seen through this "Green you can, but you cannot" pattern of embezzlement and do not want to repeat the same mistakes.

Lin stated that precisely because they value the drone industry, they insist it must be included in the regular budget, subjected to the strictest substantive review, and establish a healthy and transparent industrial environment to prevent repeating the mistakes of green energy patronage. He said if the DPP has nothing to hide and is aboveboard, they should accept legislative review and stop using political rhetoric to cover up their wolfish ambition to open the door to factional patronage. (Editor: Huang Kuo-lun) 1150605