Chiang Wan-an Visits KMT Caucus, Hopes for Support on Free School Lunches and Other Proposals

Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an today visited the Kuomintang (KMT) caucus of the city council to explain additional budget proposals aimed at promoting policies such as the reconstruction of aging school buildings and free school lunches for elementary and junior high students, hoping for councilors' support to benefit more citizens.

Chiang Wan-an stated that this session has one major bill and three important proposals seeking council support. First is the supplementary budget bill, which covers important policies including the MRT construction fund, allocation to the housing fund for converting joint development housing into social housing, school building reconstruction, free school lunches, and new education policies.

Chiang Wan-an also mentioned necessary adjustments proposed by various agencies based on operational needs, and the renewal of entrusted management contracts for Taipei Livestock Products Company and Taipei Flower Market Company. He emphasized that these measures are policy items to maintain normal municipal operations, public service quality, and address citizens' needs.

Taipei City Council Speaker Dai Hsin-chin, who attended the meeting, said that due to an increase in consolidated tax revenues, the city government proposed a supplementary budget. The related plans span multiple bureaus, including education, industrial development, social affairs, urban development, and MRT, involving several major projects and beneficial policies. He hoped that KMT councilors would support these initiatives and continue to communicate and build consensus with the city government team to facilitate budget approval.

After the meeting, Chiang Wan-an was interviewed by the media and stated that he reported on the major bills of this session, including the supplementary budget content and various policies, and thanked councilors for their many suggestions, which will be used to adjust and revise future policy implementation.

Regarding whether it touches upon the year-end election issues and how he views potential opponents from the Democratic Progressive Party, Chiang Wan-an stated that he is focused on municipal affairs and working with the council to fully promote policies, hoping to benefit more citizens.

The Taipei City Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics explained that the first supplementary budget proposal for Taipei City in fiscal year 2026 includes an additional expenditure budget of NT$21.419 billion. Major increases include NT$9 billion for MRT construction, NT$4 billion for allocating to the housing fund to acquire MRT joint development housing for social housing, NT$3.8 billion for aging school building reconstruction, and NT$935 million for free school lunches for elementary and junior high students.