Taiwan's Legislative Yuan has passed next year's central government budget, cutting and freezing most of the funding for the Public Television Service (PTS). This is bad news for public broadcasting and the government's cultural budget, and it reflects a power struggle between the opposition Kuomintang–Taiwan People's Party bloc and the ruling party.

• The Legislative Yuan passed next year's general budget on its third reading. The Ministry of Culture had originally planned to allocate more than NT$2.1 billion to PTS.
• The Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) joined forces to cut NT$21.85 million and freeze NT$200 million, with the frozen funds barred from being used for other purposes.
• The reason given for the freeze is that the term of PTS's seventh-term board of directors has expired and the provision allowing extended tenure has been removed, leaving the chair's position vacant; during this period, no salary or bonus may be paid to the chair.
• The funds can only be used once the new eighth-term chair has formally taken office and the Ministry of Culture has submitted a special report to the Legislative Yuan and obtained its approval.
• Funding for TaiwanPlus, the outward-facing international broadcaster, was also cut by NT$200 million, and the Ministry of Culture must submit an organisational review and performance report within three months.

Outlook: For PTS's funding to be unfrozen, it will first depend on when the new chair takes office; in the short term, its finances will be tight.