Taiwanese military’s closed-door meeting draws ‘black box’ criticism
Taiwan’s defence minister delivers classified briefing on record US$39.5 billion budget in a bid to break opposition blockade
Taiwan’s military held a closed-door briefing on Monday to break an opposition blockade of a controversial NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.5 billion) special defence budget that has prompted accusations of “black box” decision-making from rival parties.
Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung delivered a classified briefing to the legislature’s foreign affairs and defence committee, seeking to persuade lawmakers to allow the long-stalled bill to be referred for committee review.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the session, Koo said the defence ministry had “drawn up an integrated plan based on assessments of the security threat and Taiwan’s operational needs”.
He said the ministry hoped detailed explanations to lawmakers across party lines would help unlock legislative review and “allow defence modernisation and readiness efforts to move forward”.
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The decision to brief lawmakers behind closed doors, however, immediately triggered criticism from the opposition, which has blocked the bill from entering committee review eight times.