The opposition-dominated legislature yesterday voted down the NT$10.9 billion (US$338 million) budget earmarked for Patriot missile batteries and a NT$272.62 million outlay preparing for the purchase of items remaining in the special arms procurement package.
A retirement pension program for civil servants was postponed until the next session. Two-thirds of the Examination Yuan's budget was therefore frozen because of the crucial nature of the proposed reform, as well as the entire budget of the Ministry of Civil Service.
Two-thirds of the Executive Yuan's budget was frozen, with opposition legislators demanding that the government begin building the Suao-Hualien freeway before the budget would be released.
In one example of legislation that was cleared, the construction of the Hushan Reservoir (
Environmental groups had called for the budget to be frozen, saying that it posed both geological and ecological dangers.
The legislature also voted in favor of a People First Party (PFP) proposal that the Presidential Office dissolve its constitutional reform office, human rights commission and four other agencies.
The budget of the Mainland Affairs Council was cut by NT$100 million, and NT$280,000 meant for Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao's (姚文智) salary was trimmed.
The legislature also slashed NT$40.2 billion from the second financial reform plan and voted in favor of conditionally lifting the ban on US beef imports.
Altogether, the legislature yesterday slashed NT$36.5 billion from the government budget and froze NT$246 billion. The cut is the largest in a decade.
The Executive Yuan will ask the Legislative Yuan to reconsider the government's 2006 budget bill, a senior official said late last night.
Claiming that it would be difficult to operate on a leaner budget, the Executive Yuan announced late last night that it would seek a reconsideration of the budget plan. It would be the first time in history that the executive branch asks the legislature to reexamine a passed government budget.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus condemned the pan-blue camp's "barbaric behavior" and said it was trying to paralyze the government.
"We demand that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
Meanwhile, the odds of amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Control Statute (菸害防制法) passing this legislative session are small after firm opposition from the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU).
Under the amendments, smoking would be banned in offices and public indoor spaces where there are more than three people present. A number of restrictions would also be placed on smoking outdoors, such as on school grounds.
The Outlying Islands Development Law (離島建設條例) will not be put to a vote today after the NPSU changed its previous stance. The revisions would legalize casinos on islands such as Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
Earlier yesterday afternoon, the legislature voted on the 13 National Communications Commission (NCC) nominees, confirming 12 and rejecting one recommended by the DPP. The body will become operational in 10 days.
The Organic Law of the National Communications Commission (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that members must meet within three days to elect from among themselves one chairman and one vice chairman. The premier must then appoint the nominees seven days after the chairman and vice chairman are chosen.
Six of the 13 NCC nominees were recommended by the KMT, four by the DPP and the Executive Yuan, two by the PFP and one by the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
Lai told reporters after the voting that his caucus would recommend two candidates to the review committee soon to fill the vacancy left by Lu Chung-chin (
Lu, a National Tsinghua University professor, withdrew his name two days after he was recommended by the panel.
The KMT and PFP held a joint press conference to hail the "historic moment" of the confirmation and requested that the GIO refrain from interfering with its "independent" successor.
"We'd like to see Yao keep his mouth shut from now on and let the NCC do its job freely and fairly," PFP Legislator Lee Yong-ping (李永萍) said.
While the Executive Yuan has pledged to appeal to the Council of Grand Justices on the legality of the NCC, KMT caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) yesterday described this as "ridiculous" and asked the executive branch to desist.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
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