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Mainland spokesperson slams Lai's $40B 'defense budget' to push Taiwan toward disaster; island voices accuse him of 'selling out' Taiwan

Global Times

By Liu Xin Published: Nov 26, 2025 03:43 PM

When asked to comment on Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's recent article in The Washington Post, in which he claimed to introduce a "historic $40 billion supplementary defense budget" to respond to mainland's "threat" and that convened a meeting on the matter on Wednesday, State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Peng Qing'en said that the DPP authorities, driven by their own political interests, have allowed external forces to take whatever they want.

Money that could have been used to improve people's livelihoods and develop the economy is being squandered on buying weapons and currying favor with outside powers, a move that will only push Taiwan into disaster, Peng said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The trend toward national reunification is unstoppable. Any attempt to seek independence by relying on the US is doomed to fail, and any attempt to seek independence with force will only lead to self-destruction, said Peng.

Taiwan regional leader Lai published an article in The Washington Post on Tuesday local time, announcing what he claimed was a "historic $40 billion supplementary defense budget" to show the authorities' "commitment" to defending the island's "democracy." The move — coupled with his recent gestures toward Japan, such as publicly eating sushi after Japanese prime minister's remarks on "Taiwan contingency" — has triggered backlash on the island, with some netizens blasting Lai as a "traitor," accusing him of "selling out Taiwan," "licking the boots" of certain countries and pandering to Washington.

Lai opened the article by citing the 1979 "Taiwan Relations Act" and Reagan's "Six Assurances," while hyping the Chinese mainland's "unprecedented military buildup" and "intensifying provocations" in the Taiwan Straits. He also expressed "gratitude" for US President Donald Trump. Lai then claimed the island's defense spending — already doubled in recent years — is expected to rise to 3.3 percent of GDP next year, and vowed to raise it to 5 percent by 2030. He also claimed the regional authorities will introduce a "historic" $40 billion supplementary defense budget, saying the package will fund major US arms purchases and boost the island's "asymmetric capabilities."

Lai's article and plan to boost "defense spending" have been reported by multiple media outlets within the island and drawn criticism. Some netizens left comments under these reports, accusing Lai of hollowing out Taiwan to pander to Washington. One netizen mocked him as "pathetic and spineless — licking boots to this extent!"

In an article published by Now News on Wednesday, psychiatrist and political commentator Shen Cheng-nan ridiculed Lai's proposal, saying that if the goal is merely to please the US president, then Taiwan might as well raise its "defense budget" to 10 percent of GDP. He warned that even lifting defense spending to 5 percent of GDP would squeeze out vast amounts of funding for other public needs, effectively "cutting the rest of the budget in half." Shen asked: "What should be cut — health insurance, long-term care, childcare, education, or basic infrastructure and cultural development?"

Shen argued that Taiwan's priority should not be blindly expanding weapons purchases, but maintaining cross-Straits peace through communication and dialogue.

This is also not the first time that Lai has promoted increasing the "defense budget." In August, he announced that the Taiwan region's 2026 defense spending would rise to more than 3 percent of GDP — over NT$800 billion, according to Taiwan media.

In response, Zhu Fenglian, another spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, noted that the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan favors peace, development, exchanges and cooperation. Yet the Lai authorities, driven by partisan interests, have ignored public sentiment and willingly acted as a "cash machine" for US arms dealers. By constantly expanding the military budget and advancing a "everyone-a-soldier" approach, Lai is binding the Taiwan population to the "Taiwan independence" war chariot and attempting to "seek independence through military means." This, Zhu said, is a betrayal of the safety and interests of the Taiwan people.

This Washington Post article is just another political performance by Lai — a modern traitor, destabilizer and troublemaker of cross-Straits relations — and, together with his recent moves, underscores his growing sense of political anxiety, Zheng Jian, a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Lai is attempting to use the "$40 billion supplementary defense budget" to court the US, at a time when Washington is revising its key national security documents while the DPP increasingly worried about unfavorable attitude to Taiwan, said Zheng.

Despite the broader trend toward cross-Straits integration, Lai continues down a confrontational and misguided path. "How much more of the Taiwan residents' hard-earned money does he plan to pour into exorbitant 'Taiwan independence' arms purchases?" Zheng asked.

Lai's loud rejection of unification is the move of swimming against the tide and will only lead more island residents to see that "Taiwan independence" is an unrealistic illusion, said the expert.