Taiwan's Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) publicly reprimanded his own Kuomintang (KMT) caucus whip, Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), on August 11 for skipping budget negotiations, telling him to resign the post if he could not attend in person or authorize a stand-in.
Han grew frustrated when Fu skipped the cross-party talks on the 2026 general budget and KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) was left unable to sign off in his place. "Is this Empress Dowager Cixi ruling from behind a curtain?" Han asked from the podium, invoking the Qing dynasty regent long linked to wielding power without accountability. The rare outburst from Han, usually composed while brokering cross-party deals, drew quick reaction from lawmakers on both sides, and Fu issued his own response within hours.
DPP Lawmaker Sees Political Calculation Behind Outburst
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) wrote on Facebook that Han "finally looked the part of a speaker," saying he understood the frustration of moderating an afternoon of cuts pushed by the KMT and the Taiwan People's Party, only to see the outcome head to a floor vote anyway. "Why does he have to show up and work hard, while caucus whip Fu gets to hide out and act like a big shot?" Lin wrote.
Lin argued the rebuke also signaled Han's own bid to assert neutral authority over the chamber, adding that "what's really on his mind probably goes far beyond this legislative podium." He suggested Fu take Han's advice and return full time to his base as the so-called "King of Hualien," quipping that Fu was suffering from an incurable case of "power poisoning."
Fu Kun-chi Calls Absence A Soft Protest
Fu responded by saying, "Speaker Han, you've had a hard time," and insisted his absence reflected no disrespect but a deliberate protest against the Cabinet's repeated disregard for cross-party agreements. He said an April 15 deal to send the budget to committee included a Cabinet pledge to propose, within six months, amendments on military pay, police personnel rules and civil service protections — a promise he said the Executive Yuan broke this week by leaving those measures out of next year's budget.
Stalled Legislation Fuels The Dispute
Fu cited a broader pattern of the Cabinet ignoring laws the legislature had already passed, including a higher pension replacement rate for retired police officers and firefighters, a military pay raise and a halt to pension cuts, plus reports that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) might refuse to countersign the newly passed Future Accounts Act, which creates government-seeded savings accounts for children. He also accused the Executive Yuan's secretary-general of personally attacking KMT legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) during a livestreamed session, likening his own boycott to an earlier one by Taiwan People's Party figure Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) against what he called the executive branch's "rubber stamp" treatment of the legislature.
KMT Signals Willingness To Trim Budget Proposals
Despite the friction, Fu called Han's rebuke tough love in service of a shared goal: defending the legislature's authority. He said the KMT caucus is negotiating with the Taiwan People's Party to cut opposition budget proposals to roughly 100, aiming to pass the fiscal 2026 general budget on schedule. （Related： Tzu Chi Lost $38 Million to Vaccine Fraudsters and Never Noticed for Five Years ｜ Latest ）
