Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan opened the sixth session of its 11th term on Tuesday, Sept. 29, with Premier Cho Jung-tai presenting the Executive Yuan’s policy report alongside Cabinet ministers and agency heads. The Legislative Yuan’s official agenda listed the premier’s policy report as the first item of business.
Cho outlined six policy directions covering technology, industrial transformation, income and welfare policy, education and tourism, public safety, and national security. He also made four appeals to lawmakers as the government prepares its 2027 budget and legislative agenda, according to the Executive Yuan’s official policy report.
AI, industry and energy
Cho’s first priority, “technological leadership and smart development,” centers heavily on artificial intelligence. The 2027 central-government budget allocates NT$229.2 billion to science and technology development, a 12.7 percent increase from this year, with AI development among the main priorities.
Under the government’s New Ten Major AI Projects, Taiwan plans to build on its semiconductor manufacturing base while expanding software and public-facing AI applications. The policy report says high-speed silicon photonics validation laboratories are being developed, a National Intelligent Robotics Research Center has been established in Tainan’s Shalun area, and sovereign-AI demonstration projects are being promoted in education, healthcare, finance and the judicial sector.
The government is also backing 13 strategic industries, including critical minerals, biotechnology and healthcare, autonomous systems and financial services. Cho said an additional NT$100 billion would be invested over eight years to support the transformation of small and micro enterprises across manufacturing, retail, tourism, agriculture and startups.
For the best of our weekly content！
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Check your email to complete sign up
Agriculture and energy are also included in the transformation plan. The government has allocated NT$7.4 billion for the second phase of a cold-chain logistics program and says a major irrigation project linking the Zhuo and North trunk lines has been completed to improve water transfers across the Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan region. Four new gas-fired generating units are being added this year, while two older coal-fired units at the Taichung Power Plant are scheduled to begin dismantling in October as Taiwan continues its longer-term energy transition.
Wages, welfare and public investment
The third policy direction, “fair distribution and shared prosperity,” includes a proposed NT$10,000 cash payment to every citizen next year. The 2027 budget sets aside NT$235.7 billion for the payments, which remain subject to legislative approval. The government says the plan can be funded without additional borrowing or displacing existing programs.
According to the Taipei Times, the Wage Review Committee has recommended raising Taiwan’s minimum wage next year to NT$30,900 per month and NT$205 per hour, and the Executive Yuan said it would move to approve the increase. The government has budgeted NT$130 billion for the Labor Insurance Fund and NT$60 billion for the National Health Insurance Fund. Public-sector professional and supervisory allowances increased by NT$2,000 on July 1, and overall public-sector compensation is scheduled to rise another four percent next year.
For regional development, the 2027 budget includes NT$227.1 billion for 152 projects across six regional industrial and living zones. Major projects include Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3, the first phase of the Tainan railway underground project, and work connected to extending high-speed rail service to Pingtung.
Under its family-support strategy, the government has allocated NT$373 billion for 18 measures spanning childrearing, childcare, education, workplace policy and housing. Six social-welfare allowances, along with the elderly farmers’ allowance and National Pension payments, are being increased retroactively from July. The government has also allocated NT$115.3 billion this year for Long-Term Care 3.0.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Health Coin program is scheduled to launch on Oct. 1. According to the Executive Yuan, eligible participants will be able to earn digital rewards through activities such as health checkups, vaccinations and cancer screenings, with redemption options to follow through participating businesses and service providers.
Cho’s fifth priority covers education, culture and tourism. The government is continuing sports and cultural voucher programs, the NT$10 billion Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative for overseas youth opportunities, and an AI Talent Ark program aimed at strengthening AI education. It has also set a goal of developing Taiwan’s tourism industry to NT$1 trillion in annual output by 2030.
Security priorities and 4 appeals to lawmakers
The sixth direction focuses on resilience, public safety and national security. The government is continuing its “String of Pearls” water-resources program and a four-year, NT$100 billion river and drainage improvement plan. Cho also highlighted anti-drug and anti-fraud efforts; the government says that since the launch of the 165 Anti-Fraud Dashboard, average daily fraud reports through the national telecommunications network have fallen about 44 percent and average daily financial losses have fallen about 67 percent.
On national security, Cho said the government is implementing 17 strategies in response to what it describes as Beijing’s gray-zone pressure and transnational repression. Draft amendments to the National Security Act and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area have been sent to the Legislative Yuan for review.
Taiwan’s overall 2027 defense budget is NT$1.1225 trillion, exceeding three percent of GDP. The Ministry of National Defense has also earmarked NT$55.9 billion for unmanned systems in the 2026 supplementary budget.
CNA reported that Cho made four specific appeals to lawmakers. First, he asked the Legislative Yuan to complete review of the 2027 central-government general budget, which sets both revenue and expenditure at NT$3.9266 trillion. Second, he urged lawmakers to pass the 2026 supplementary budget, which includes funding for livelihood measures, social-welfare increases, public-sector allowances and defense.
Third, Cho asked lawmakers to support future budgets prepared under special legislation for national-security and asymmetric-defense procurement. Fourth, he called for passage of the Cabinet’s priority legislation, including measures related to the government’s population strategy, small-business transformation and sports policy.
Original article
Comments