Ministry of the Interior: No Consensus Reached on Kinmen's Overall Budget Proposal, Urges Continued Communication Between County Government and Council

By reporter Kao Hua-chien, Taipei, June 15 (Central News Agency) – Regarding disputes over the review of Kinmen County's fiscal year 115 overall budget proposal, the Ministry of the Interior stated today that it convened a meeting between the Kinmen County Government and the County Council. However, as both parties failed to reach a consensus, the ministry has requested that the county government continue communicating with the council. If no agreement is reached, the Ministry will make a direct decision one month after the end of the mediation period—i.e., after July 6.

On April 23, the Kinmen County Council passed a resolution to delete the annual budget for Kinmen Liquor Corporation's Xiamen branch. At the time, Kinmen Deputy County Magistrate Lee Wen-liang indicated that upon receiving the meeting records, the county government would consider filing a motion for reconsideration. If reconsideration fails to resolve the issue, the county would further request mediation from the Ministry of the Interior under relevant regulations.

In a press release today, the Ministry of the Interior explained that Kinmen County's fiscal year 115 overall budget proposal was not finalized by the end of March, prompting the county government to formally request mediation on June 4. Today's mediation meeting discussed the follow-up handling of two major disputed issues: first, the council's final three-reading resolution on this year's overall budget has not yet been formally sent to the county government; second, the complete deletion of the budget for Kinmen Liquor's Xiamen company.

The Ministry stated that both the county government and council fully expressed their positions during the meeting, and central agencies were invited to clarify relevant regulatory frameworks to help resolve the disputes.

Although both sides remain firm in their positions on the budget proposal, the council expressed openness to continued discussions with the county government. Therefore, the Ministry has urged the county government to maintain communication with the council. Additionally, the county government has been asked to submit supplementary documentation explaining the operational difficulties arising from the full deletion of the Xiamen company's budget, as well as the minimum budget required for the company to fulfill its statutory obligations and maintain basic operations. This information will support the Ministry in making a legally mandated direct decision if no consensus is reached by the end of the mediation period. (Edited by Lin Hsing-meng) 1150615