Taipei [Taiwan], November 11 : Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed its highest confidential budget in six years, amounting to TWD (New Taiwan Dollar) 1,821,387,000 (USD 56.71 million) for the upcoming year, Taipei Times reported.
This marks a significant increase of TWD 634.669 million, or 53.48 per cent, from the current year's TWD 1,186,718,000, according to the Legislative Yuan's Budget Centre. Compared to last year's confidential spending of TWD 751,157,000, the proposed budget represents a jump of TWD 1,070,230,000, or 142.48 per cent.
The rise has sparked calls for greater transparency regarding the use of these funds.
The proposed budget, which will account for 6.01 percent of the Ministry's total annual budget, will be the largest in six years. Despite fluctuations in the confidential budgets since 2020, next year's proposed amount stands as the most substantial, reported Taipei Times.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan stated that the allocation of these funds will comply with the Enforcement Rules of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, which outlines the conditions under which government data can be classified to avoid "exceptionally grave damage" or "serious damage."
These conditions include scenarios where the government's diplomatic relations, negotiations, or intelligence capabilities are threatened.
The Budget Centre, however, has raised concerns over the opacity of the Ministry's confidential budget. The centre emphasised that, in line with the principle of government information freedom, the Ministry should list its expenditures to enable public scrutiny.
This, the centre argues, would ensure that government resources are properly regulated, monitored, and that taxpayers' money is spent responsibly, Taipei Times reported.
Furthermore, the centre pointed out that although amendments to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, passed last year, prohibit the indefinite classification of information, the Ministry has yet to declassify many documents.
Of the 47,978 classified books held by the Ministry that were categorised before 2003, only 2,663 have been reassigned, leaving the majority still undisclosed for over 17 years.