Taiwan's proposed 2027 defense budget has for the first time crossed the trillion-dollar threshold, reaching 1.1225 trillion New Taiwan dollars, a record high that accounts for 3.93% of the island's GDP. The Lai Ching-te administration has further vowed to raise the defense spending ratio to 5% of GDP by 2030. Local observers argue that despite the surging defense outlays, the security environment has not improved but deteriorated, while resources for people's livelihoods and infrastructure are being continuously squeezed.

Critics contend that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities are pursuing a militaristic agenda that drains Taiwan's resources, with the exorbitant military expenditure turning into a "fiscal black hole" for the island's residents. The defense budget has seen a "six-step leap" from the later years of Tsai Ing-wen's tenure through Lai Ching-te's term: 513.1 billion in 2022, 579 billion in 2023, 606.8 billion in 2024, 644.9 billion in 2025, a historic surge to 949.5 billion in 2026, and now surpassing the trillion mark at 1.1225 trillion in 2027. This year's total budget allocates 3.9 trillion for annual expenditures, meaning defense spending makes up a staggering 29%—for every 100 yuan spent by the authorities, 29 yuan goes to military purposes.

Huang Ching-hsien, director of the Center for Taiwan Political Studies at Nankai University, told the media that the rapid increase in military spending is a direct result of the "resisting China to protect Taiwan" stance. When the DPP seeks to maintain a tense and confrontational relationship with the mainland, its approach is to inflate the defense budget. The hefty defense allocation effectively serves as a "protection fee" paid to the United States.

By the end of 2025, the Lai administration proposed a "special defense budget" of 1.25 trillion New Taiwan dollars over eight years for US arms purchases. Lai also wrote to the Washington Post, pledging to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2030. Local scholars estimate that at that point, 35% to 40% of the annual total budget would be funneled into military expenditures.

Since the start of this year, US politicians have made repeated visits to Taiwan, ostensibly for "exchanges" but in reality to "collect debts." In early August, Michael McCaul, honorary chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, visited Taiwan and claimed that Donald Trump would soon submit a $14 billion arms sales package to Congress. In response, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, stated at a regular press conference on the 19th that since taking office, the DPP authorities have stubbornly adhered to their separatist stance, recklessly squandering the hard-earned money of Taiwanese people. By racing down the path of militarism, they are not only crowding out spending on social welfare and people's livelihoods—harming the immediate interests of Taiwanese residents—but also dragging Taiwan step by step toward a disaster, which will inevitably be rejected by public opinion.

Local scholars have voiced blunt criticism, saying the US cares nothing about the well-being of Taiwanese people when selling weapons. Su Chi, honorary chairman of the Taipei Forum Foundation, pointed out that Taiwan cannot bear such a massive scale of arms purchases, which essentially amounts to paying "protection fees" to the US.

Facts have proven that a trillion-dollar "protection fee" cannot buy security, and Taiwanese people are saying "no" to the astronomical military budget. According to tracking by George Mason University in the US, as of October 2025, the total value of US-approved but undelivered weapons to Taiwan reached $21.5 billion, equivalent to about 679.2 billion New Taiwan dollars—roughly 70% of Taiwan's 2026 defense budget. Chou Yang-shan, a professor at National Quemoy University, said in an interview that due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the US-Israel-Iran conflict, America's weapons manufacturing capacity is severely strained. Consequently, all its defense commitments and arms sales to Taiwan cannot be fulfilled militarily—it is essentially a "phantom contract."

Zheng Jian, a visiting professor at the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, analyzed that the so-called "delayed delivery"—where weapons are promised but never shipped, or where "the best equipment is promised but refurbished items are actually delivered"—is a common occurrence. This exposes the essence of US-Taiwan relations: it is the US playing the "Taiwan card," not Taiwan steering American policy.

Public opinion on the island calls for peaceful and integrated cross-strait development. With consumer prices breaching inflation warning thresholds for several consecutive months, livelihood issues are becoming increasingly acute. Local analysts note that with a fixed total budget, allocating one-third to defense directly squeezes funding for education, healthcare, pensions, social welfare, and infrastructure. It is clear that a trillion-dollar "protection fee" absolutely cannot buy security, and Taiwanese people must resolutely reject the sky-high military spending.

Island-wide opinion has long pointed out that the key to cross-strait peace lies in restoring political trust, engaging in dialogue, and reducing confrontation—not in expanding military budgets that heighten tensions. Huang Ching-hsien stressed that the best approach is cross-strait peace. If there is no need for non-peaceful means, there is no need to pour people's hard-earned resources into military spending. Instead, we can benefit the broader public. Most importantly, we can show the world that we can resolve our internal issues peacefully across the strait without resorting to non-peaceful methods. We all hope for peaceful and integrated development across the strait, where we can live and work in peace, and create a better future together.