KMT-CCP exchange likely, source says as defense budget blockedBy Chen Yun, Su Yung-yao, Lin Hsin-han and Sam Garcia / Staff reporters, with staff writerAn exchange between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would be held in Beijing next week if the KMT blocked the special defense budget today, people familiar with the matter said. The KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) later blocked the Executive Yuan’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.68 billion) special defense budget from proceeding through the legislative process for the 10th time. The CCP had set conditions for the forum’s resumption, including that the KMT block the special defense budget, take a clear stance on “post-reunification” institutional arrangements and not support Taiwan-US supply chain cooperation, the sources said. No form of cross-strait exchange, think tank dialogue or inter-party interaction has ever involved any quid pro quo, nor could arms purchases, defense policy or legislative decisions be used as preconditions, the KMT said. Deliberately distorting the lawful oversight of the defense budget into a political transaction not only defies basic common sense but also seriously misleads the public, it said.

Source: Taipei Times January 27, 2026 11:32 UTC