KMT backer calls for firm defense spending stanceEQUALLY PROSPEROUS: The KMT said backer Yang Chien-kang does not aim to block military procurement, but to ensure that Taiwan’s development is balancedBy Fang Wei-li and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerYi Kang chairman Yang Chien-kang (楊建綱), a long-time financial backer of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), during a gathering at party headquarters on Friday urged KMT lawmakers to stand firm on the party line regarding arms procurement. Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei TimesThe procurement budget is also not in compliance with due process, Yang was quoted as saying. DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said Yang’s message served only to put out erroneous information on national defense and stir up political strife, as is Beijing’s intent. Taiwan’s national defense budget is patterned after the NATO standard, equal to 3 percent of the nation’s GDP, not half of the national budget, Wu said. He was also rumored to be KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) backer during last year’s chairperson election.

Source: Taipei Times January 24, 2026 16:02 UTC