The Cabinet set up a seven-person task force yesterday that will propose within three months new changes to the nation's budget allocation law.
Cabinet officials said the proposed changes would introduce a more "reasonable and fair" formula for the allocation of central government funds. The ultimate goal is to allow local governments greater financial and administrative autonomy, officials said.
"No matter what the new changes are, it's a promise that local governments -- including Taipei and Kaohsiung cities -- will receive more government funding than they did under the old law," Chuang Shuo-han (莊碩漢), Cabinet spokesman, quoted Premier Yu Shyi-kun as saying yesterday. Chuang made the remarks at the Cabinet's weekly affairs meeting.
The legislature on Tuesday failed to override a Cabinet motion to void recently passed amendments to the Law Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Officials earlier said Ma's plan would shift NT$150 billion from the central government to local governments, but that estimate was later revised.
While 103 lawmakers supported the Cabinet's motion to void the changes, 109 lawmakers from the opposition alliance voted against it. But that was four votes less than needed to quash the DPP government's request.
The Constitution mandates that half of the 225-member legislative body, or 113 lawmakers, is needed to reject a veto motion proposed by the Cabinet. Of the 225 lawmakers, 213 took part in Tuesday's vote, which was conducted by open ballot. A KMT lawmaker representing Yunlin County cast an invalid ballot while seven others abstained. The remaining five took a leave of absence.
Ma was a no-show at a Cabinet meeting yesterday to discuss the budget allocation law, nor did his representative make any comments during the gathering, Chuang said.
The spokesman said the seven-person panel will consult local governments, legislative caucuses and financial experts in the formation of its proposal.
"We hope to hammer out the time table within 30 to 45 days and propose the draft amendments in early May," Chuang said.
Vice Premier Lin Hsin-yi (
The other members are Lee Yung-san (李庸三), minister of finance; Lin Chuan (林全), head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics; Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲), minister of the interior; Lin Chia-cheng (林嘉誠), director of the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission; Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), head of the Central Personnel Administration; and Hsu Chih-hsiung (許志雄), minister without portfolio.
Four basic principles were set down as guidelines for the new budget allocation amendments, Chuang said.
First, the changes must allow local governments to enjoy greater autonomy when its comes to their finances, authority and manpower.
Second, the formation of the new allocation formula should reflect the trend set by other democratic countries.
In addition, the formula must be reasonable and fair.
Finally, the mechanism must encourage local governments to be frugal in their spending and help them find ways to raise revenue independently.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique