Weng Hsiao-ling Demands Cho Jung-tai Take Responsibility for Toxic Oil with 'These Salaries!' Exposes 7 Billion-Yuan Subsidized Units: 'I'm Proud to Cut Budgets'

This year's central government budget has not yet completed legislative review. Recently, KMT legislator Weng Hsiao-ling has focused on 'cutting media publicity expenses (media promotion fees)', successively proposing budget reductions for the Executive Yuan and multiple ministries—all of which were fully approved. Weng has repeatedly posted on Facebook, 'I'm on the front page again,' drawing criticism from the DPP, who accuse her of being a 'cultural killer' and putting 'politics above culture.'

Additionally, as the toxic oil scandal continues to escalate, KMT legislator Weng Hsiao-ling appeared on a radio program today (21st) and directly criticized the government for revealing information about problematic businesses 'like squeezing toothpaste,' with information disclosure being too slow. This has led to public skepticism, and Weng stated that Premier Cho Jung-tai is no longer suitable to serve as head of government, proposing to freeze his salary from September to December this year.

Which organizations received over 100 million yuan in subsidies from the Ministry of Culture? What did Weng Hsiao-ling say?

On the 18th, Weng posted on Facebook: 'Back on Liberty Times' front page' and 'I'm proud to cut budgets,' bluntly stating that in green media's eyes, the Ministry of Culture's budget is indeed more important than the toxic oil food safety issue. In response to media reports that she slashed 210 million yuan in subsidies, the Ministry of Culture claimed this would impact arts groups like Cloud Gate Dance and Ming Hwa Yuan, but Weng countered, 'Doesn't the Ministry of Culture feel disgusted and ashamed saying this?' She cut the Ministry's 'subsidies to domestic organizations' mainly because the budget increased by 228 million yuan for the heavily criticized TaiwanPlus and 20 million yuan for the Cultural Content Development Agency (CCCD), while the Ministry of Culture's total budget reached 9.3 billion yuan, an increase of 218 million yuan from last year.

She listed the following organizations receiving over 100 million yuan in subsidies:

- Public Television Service Foundation: 2.12 billion yuan - TaiwanPlus, called a 'disaster' by Culture Minister Lee Yung-te: 1 billion yuan - Cultural Content Development Agency (CCCD), which lost 100 million yuan investing in the film 'Kung Fu': 750 million yuan - Central News Agency (CNA): 390 million yuan - Central Broadcasting System (CBS): 450 million yuan - National Culture and Arts Foundation: 260 million yuan - National Performing Arts Center (including National Theater, Taichung Opera House, Weiwuying): 1.97 billion yuan

Do arts groups receive less than 20% of the budget? Why did Weng cut the budget?

Weng pointed out that the total amount of the above subsidies reached 7.217 billion yuan, accounting for 77.5% of the annual subsidy budget. The remaining funds for so-called 'grassroots arts groups' actually account for less than 20%, creating a long-standing imbalance where 'public institutions are fat, private groups are lean.'

She cited that in 2026 (Minguo 115), Cloud Gate Dance received only 47 million yuan from the Ministry of Culture, just 0.5% of the total. If the Ministry truly wanted to support arts groups, it should allocate more funds. While fairness is an issue, she argued it's unreasonable for two-thirds of subsidies to go to public media.

Weng concluded that in 2024 (Minguo 113), the Ministry's 10 billion yuan in subsidies had a surplus of 1.8 billion yuan, meaning the money wasn't even fully spent. Yet in 2026, the budget increased by another 218 million yuan to 9.3 billion yuan. Her cut of 210 million yuan (about 2%) was minor, yet the Ministry and DPP legislators slandered her by claiming 'this small cut will paralyze grassroots arts groups.'

She emphasized: 'Deciding which grassroots groups receive subsidies and how much is up to the Ministry of Culture. But if I had the authority, I would redirect the 1 billion yuan given to TaiwanPlus entirely to grassroots arts groups. Then, outstanding domestic groups like Cloud Gate Dance and Ming Hwa Yuan would receive far more funding than they do now.'

Did Weng slash 1 billion yuan from cultural budgets? How did the DPP respond?

In response, the DPP today posted on Facebook titled 'Cultural Killer Weng Hsiao-ling Proposes 30 Cases to Slash 1 Billion Yuan from Cultural Budgets Again!' accusing Weng of failing in the first round to cut various media promotion expenses from the Ministry of Culture, and now in the second review, 'copy-pasting' numerous proposals to heavily slash cultural budgets again! She proposed eliminating media promotion fees, operational expenses, personnel costs, and subsidy grants from the Ministry of Culture, with total cuts reaching 1 billion yuan. Notably, her proposal to cut 210 million yuan from 'subsidies and grants to arts groups' has drawn widespread质疑 from frontline cultural workers and the entire cultural sector.

The DPP emphasized that these funds are not only for the Ministry's self-promotion; cuts would also affect performance teams, visual arts, literary publishing, independent bookstores, the Golden Horse Awards, and anti-scalping campaigns for cultural vouchers.