Taiwan's government is fighting over how big a cash handout to give every citizen, with the premier flatly refusing to double it — bad news for people hoping for a bigger check, but framed by the Cabinet as budget discipline.

• The Cabinet approved next year's budget with a NT$10,000 cash handout for everyone, costing over NT$200 billion.
• Opposition parties want it doubled to NT$20,000; Premier Cho Jung-tai said "absolutely not."
• Doubling it would squeeze money set aside for welfare payments and birth-rate subsidies, the Cabinet argues.
• Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen hit back that the money comes from over-collected taxes paid by the public, so it should be returned to them.
• Lu wants the handout written into law rather than decided case by case — "this is not the president's private piggy bank."

Outlook: Expect a budget fight in the legislature, where the opposition holds leverage to push the handout higher or force it into permanent law.