Taiwanese military’s closed-door meeting draws ‘black box’ criticism

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Lawrence ChungJanuary 20, 2026 at 02:00 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Taiwan's military held a closed-door briefing on Monday to address opposition to a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.5 billion) special defense budget. Defense Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung aimed to persuade lawmakers to allow the bill, the largest defense spending proposal in Taiwan's history, to proceed to committee review. The budget, announced in November by Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te, seeks to bolster combat readiness through 2033 amid increasing military pressure from Beijing. The defense ministry stated the plan is based on security threat assessments and Taiwan’s operational needs. However, the closed-door nature of the briefing drew criticism from the opposition, which has repeatedly blocked the bill's advancement.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

People's Liberation Army ×260% Beijing 70% William Lai Ching-te 70% Wellington Koo Li-hsiung ×280% Taiwanese military 90% Taiwan ×6100%

Keywords

defence budget 100% taiwanese military 90% closed-door meeting 80% legislative review 70% military pressure 60% defence modernisation 60% security threat 50% combat readiness 50% opposition blockade 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.20

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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defence budget taiwanese military closed-door meeting legislative review military pressure defence modernisation security threat combat readiness opposition blockade

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