Taipei: The heads of Taiwan's five government branches on Monday reached a consensus in three areas, including the establishment of a communications platform to resolve disagreements, after attending a meeting led by President Lai Ching-te.

According to Focus Taiwan, Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an announced that the five branch heads agreed to set up a platform aimed at improving communications and cooperation to advance public policies and strengthen Taiwan's democracy and freedom. The consensus recognizes the importance of respecting the unique duties and checks and balances of the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Judicial Yuan, the Examination Yuan, and the Control Yuan.

The branch heads also emphasized that while competition among political parties is permissible, national interests should not be compromised. Facing a fast-changing global landscape, they stressed the necessity for unity, particularly concerning national defense and diplomatic matters, by prioritizing national security.

The meeting, convened by President Lai, was aimed at addressing the political and economic challenges Taiwan faces domestically and internationally. A significant focus was the ongoing stand-off between Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government and the Legislative Yuan, where the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) have collaborated to pass measures opposed by the DPP, including disputes over the 2025 budget.

Despite the opposition's cuts to the central government's budget request, the overall budget saw a 3 percent increase compared to 2024. The DPP contends that the budget cuts could hinder policy implementation. Pan reiterated the importance of national security, economic development, and public welfare as shared responsibilities and goals for both ruling and opposition parties.

However, the path to reconciliation remains uncertain, as Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu is the only branch head aligned with the opposition, and his role does not involve policy-making. The Legislative Yuan's confrontation has sparked a campaign led by DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming to recall KMT lawmakers, prompting the KMT to retaliate.

Han expressed hopes that President Lai would urge an end to the recall campaigns. Additionally, he called for the Cabinet to refrain from requesting a second vote on the budget plan once submitted. Han suggested that cross-party negotiations could resolve contentious parts of the budget.

As the Legislative Yuan finalizes the budget plan before sending it to the Executive Yuan, Han highlighted a conversation with Lai regarding the recall campaigns, emphasizing that mobilizing such efforts out of animosity is detrimental to society.

In response, Xavier Chang, Pan's deputy, relayed Lai's instructions for Premier Cho Jung-tai and Han to engage in negotiations to settle the budget dispute. Lai invoked Buddhist teachings to illustrate the importance of avoiding negative causes while fostering positive ones, urging better communication between the Executive Yuan and Legislative Yuan.

The current heads of the five branches are Premier Cho, Legislative Speaker Han, Acting Judicial Yuan President Shieh Ming-yan, Control Yuan President Chen Chu, and Examination Yuan President Chou Hung-hsien.