China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Slams Taiwan’s 2027 Defense Budget Near 4% of GDP

Beijing's "self-destructive" framing is less about the budget number than about who Taiwan is buying from and why — the closer defense spending tracks toward the 5% pledge, the more cross-strait rhetoric is likely to harden. The signal matters most for Taiwan's fiscal priorities and its defense-industrial ties, and for how Beijing calibrates its response. Whether the special budget survives legislative review, and whether the 5% target stays a pledge rather than a plan, is the open question.