TPP Chairman KC Huang met with AIT Director Raymond Greene yesterday to exchange views on national defense resilience, U.S.-Taiwan tariff issues, judicial reform, and domestic political circumstances.

The TPP has long followed to principles of fiscal discipline and rigorous government oversight. Former TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je was the first presidential candidate to advocate for raising Taiwan’s defense budget to 3% of GDP. We support necessary defense investments — but our firm belief is that money must be spent in the right places. Taiwan is currently facing a critical shortage of military personnel, yet the proposed military pay raise has not been included in next year’s Central Government General Budget. This raises serious concerns about whether the ruling party is truly committed to national defense.

Chairman Huang noted that high tariffs have already severely impacted Taiwan’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, the ruling party has not only failed to communicate with the public, but the Legislative Yuan remains entirely uninformed about the progress of ongoing trade negotiations. We urge swift and transparent results so that SMEs can prepare accordingly and minimize potential harm.

At the same time, to achieve true judicial justice and restore the Taiwanese people’s trust in the judiciary, the TPP will continue to advance judicial reform, always putting the people first, upholding integrity, professionalism, and pragmatism, and safeguarding Taiwan’s future.

Finally, we thank the AIT for this exchange. The TPP will continue to promote defense resilience and safeguard the cherished values of freedom and democracy.