Taiwan’s Executive Yuan said Thursday that freezing Premier Cho Jung-tai’s salary for the final four months of 2026 crosses a constitutional line drawn in Interpretation No. 601, opening a separation-of-powers fight that goes beyond partisan theater over military pay bills. The KMT-led legislature passed the freeze 59–51 in mid-August, tying release to Cabinet countersigning demands; Cho’s office says legally mandated pay cannot be held hostage in the annual budget.
What lawmakers voted to do
KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling’s motion blocks roughly NT$1.49 million in premier pay from September through December unless the Cabinet embeds certain appropriations, countersigns contested statutes, and reports to the Internal Administration Committee. Weng argues the pressure responds to Cho’s refusal to implement funding for police and firefighter pay reforms and other laws passed without executive agreement. Opposition lawmakers call it an end-run around the Control Yuan’s impeachment path.
Why the Cabinet cites Interpretation 601
Spokesperson Michelle Lee said Cho’s salary is a legally required expense for the highest administrative office. Interpretation No. 601 barred the legislature from slashing judges’ statutorily set pay through budget deletes that effectively reduce remuneration and impair constitutional functions. The Cabinet contends a targeted salary freeze on the premier does the same to executive branch operations, and violates the Budget Act proviso that conditions on spending cannot contravene higher law.
What happens next on the calendar
As of mid-September the Executive Yuan said it had not received the finalized budget text from the legislature, leaving payroll offices to decide whether to disburse September wages while lawyers prepare a constitutional challenge. DPP legislators and former grand justice Huang Hung-hsia have publicly warned the freeze sets a precedent for punishing individual appointees outside impeachment channels. KMT leaders maintain budget oversight is their constitutional role—even when the target is the premier’s paycheck.
The dispute does not pause Mid-Autumn infrastructure deadlines Cho highlighted in Taichung this week, but it ensures every Cabinet briefing will pair policy updates with questions about who gets paid and under what legal theory.
How other budget fights compare
Lawyers citing Interpretation No. 601 note it arose when lawmakers deleted judges’ professional allowances—a direct hit to statutorily defined pay. The Executive Yuan argues a named freeze on the premier is structurally similar even if the dollar amount is smaller, because it targets one constitutional officer’s ability to work without distraction. KMT caucus leaders counter that budget conditions on executive compliance are ordinary oversight, pointing to past freezes on agency promotions until reports arrive—though those rarely zero out a single official’s salary.
Constitutional Court petitions take months; payroll clerks face days. Until the court speaks, Taiwan is testing whether the legislature can withhold a premier’s wages to force countersignatures—a question that will outlast this Mid-Autumn week.
