Taiwan's opposition-controlled legislature has wiped out the President's discretionary spending fund and tied its release to political demands, a move the Presidential Office calls using the budget as a weapon.

• The legislature passed the 2026 budget and cut the President's NT$30 million State Affairs Fund, slashing part of it and freezing the rest, leaving zero available to spend right now.
• To unfreeze the money, lawmakers are demanding the President first sign five specific bills into law, then get committee approval.
• The Presidential Office says this has nothing to do with how the fund is actually used and is meant to block the President from doing his job.
• The fund normally pays for state visits, gifts, and aid to disadvantaged groups, disaster victims, and frontline police and troops.
• The fund had never been touched for 11 straight years under three different presidents until it was frozen for the first time last year, and now again.

Outlook: The fight is likely to deepen the standoff between President Lai Ching-te and the opposition-led legislature, with the frozen money stuck until the President meets their demands.