Taiwan Poll Shows 41.1% Favor Flat Defense Budget as Lai Pushes Rise to 3.32% of GDP
Updated
Updated · dominotheory.com · Jun 5
Taiwan Poll Shows 41.1% Favor Flat Defense Budget as Lai Pushes Rise to 3.32% of GDP
2 articles · Updated · dominotheory.com · Jun 5
Summary
40.7% of Taiwanese back higher defense spending, while 41.1% prefer keeping it unchanged and 10.5% want cuts, according to a new National Chengchi University poll presented in Taipei.
1,333 phone interviews were conducted on Nov. 25-30, just as President Lai Ching-te unveiled a planned $40 billion special defense budget, suggesting opinion formed amid intense public debate.
Political identity drove the split: support for an increase topped 80% among pro-DPP "green" voters, fell below 20% among KMT-aligned "blue" voters, and sat just under 25% among TPP supporters; only a little over one-third of independents backed a rise.
Young respondents were less opposed to higher spending, and more than 75% rejected the idea that cutting the defense budget would reduce the risk of war.
The findings point to a domestic ceiling on Lai's plan to lift defense spending from 2.38% to 3.32% of GDP in 2026 and toward 5% by 2030, after lawmakers last month cut the special package to $24.8 billion.