Did Han Kuo-yu's Outburst Work? Fu Kun-chi Signs Budget Agreement, Final Vote Timing Revealed

KMT Legislative Caucus Convenor Fu Kun-chi was absent from the August 11 cross-party consultation on the 2024 Central Government Overall Budget Bill and failed to authorize Lin Pei-shiang or Hsu Yu-chen to sign on his behalf, prompting Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu to issue strong remarks. However, according to the latest cross-party consultation conclusion released today (August 13), Fu signed the agreement yesterday (August 12), and the KMT, DPP, and TPP caucuses have all agreed to process the overall budget on August 14. If the third reading is not completed that day, an additional session will be held on August 17 to continue deliberations.

Controversy over lack of authorization during negotiations led Han Kuo-yu to bluntly state: 'If you’re not coming, resigning as convenor would be easier.' When Han convened the third round of budget consultations, Fu was absent and had not authorized Lin Pei-shiang or Hsu Yu-chen to sign. Han openly criticized this as 'ruling from behind the curtain' and added that if Fu wouldn’t attend, he should just resign as caucus leader. Later, as Tsai Chi-chang and Chen Ching-lung left early, the blue and white caucuses still lacked proper authorization to sign, prompting Han to unusually criticize the opposition parties for 'mocking the process' and 'choosing punishment over respect.'

168 Reserved Proposals – Each Party Gets 3-Minute Speech Before Voting! KMT Still Pushes to Suspend Drone Program

According to the latest consultation outcome, the August 14 plenary session will address the overall budget. Non-reserved portions will be read out and passed immediately, while the 168 reserved proposals will be processed after each of the three caucuses nominates one speaker to deliver a three-minute statement, followed directly by a vote. Currently, the only remaining general issue is the KMT caucus’s proposal to delete the 2024 budget for the 'Integrated Development Plan for Unmanned Vehicle Industries,' calling instead to wait until related legislation is passed before allocating funds in subsequent years.

Six Referendum Bills to Be Voted First! TPP Responds to Position on Flogging Referendum

In addition to the overall budget, the August 14 session will first vote on six referendum bills jointly proposed by the KMT and TPP. Regarding whether to support the KMT’s proposed flogging referendum, TPP Caucus Deputy Secretary-General Chen Chao-chih stated on the 13th that the TPP approaches referendum topics with great caution. The party has held consensus meetings over ten times to discuss which issues to propose and their priority order. For other parties’ proposed flogging referendum, the party recently held an internal public debate specifically to present diverse viewpoints to society.