Taiwan's premier opened the new legislative session by asking opposition parties to stop the budget standoff — a plea that signals the fight over spending and constitutional powers is far from settled.

• Premier Cho Jung-tai urged lawmakers to pass the central government budget on time and respect the split between executive and legislative powers.
• He asked directly for support on next year's budget, a supplementary budget, and special defense spending tied to building asymmetric military capability.
• Taiwan's economy is booming on the AI buildout: growth hit 8.76% last year and is forecast above 11% this year, the best among its neighbors, with unemployment at a 25-year low.
• Headwinds named: US tariff shifts, the Russia-Ukraine war, Middle East conflict, and China's continuing gray-zone pressure and infiltration.
• The gesture fell flat — fewer than five opposition lawmakers stayed in the chamber for the report, and no questions were taken.

Outlook: The budget and defense spending bills head into a hostile legislature, so more constitutional deadlock is likely before any of it clears.