Taiwan President Lai Ching-te appealed on Monday in his Lunar New Year message for harmony between the ruling and opposition parties, amid a standoff over the opposition slashing this year’s budget.
While Lai won the presidential election last year, his Democratic Progressive Party lost its majority in parliament, giving the opposition legislative control that includes spending proposals.
Last week the opposition, citing a need to cut waste, passed spending cuts the government says amount to T$207.6 billion ($6.33 billion) or 6.6% of the proposed total budget, for central government spending this year.
The government is considering asking parliament to reconsider the budget, which includes defence spending, though the opposition has not shown signs of backing down.
In his message ahead of the Lunar New Year, which starts on Wednesday, Lai said harmony was needed, though he did not directly mention the budget or other disputes with the opposition.
“There is a saying that in a harmonious family, all things prosper,” he said in the message carried on his social media accounts.
