Having blocked the NT$610.8 billion (US$18.4 billion) budget for the purchase of US weapons systems from being put onto the legislative agenda for more than two years, pan-blue lawmakers yesterday made a verbal promise that they would let the revised bill through at next Tuesday's Procedure Committee meeting.
The move came after Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) yesterday told lawmakers that the initial NT$610.8 billion "special arms procurement bill," which was first sent to the legislature for review on June 8, 2004, would be withdrawn.
Lee made the remarks at a multi-party negotiation session that had been convened by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had said that it would not agree to review the new NT$6.2 billion arms bill unless the government withdrew the initial package.
The new bill was listed as an additional budget item in this year's annual government budget.
Under the new budget bill, the Cabinet earmarked NT$1.6 billion for purchasing P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, NT$3.6 billion for upgrading PAC-2 anti-missile batteries instead of purchasing new PAC-3 anti-missile batteries, NT$200 million for assessing the necessity of submarines, and NT$700 million for building an airstrip on Taiping Island.
It was agreed at yesterday's negotiation session that the government would withdraw the NT$610.8 billion package and that the pan-blue camp would put the reduced budget onto the legislative agenda, Lee said.
The pan-blues made the promise at a "public meeting attended by all five political parties. I hope that they will keep their promise," Lee added.
The pledges will only become official after the caucus whips of all the attending political parties have signed a consensus document, but by press time last night they had yet to do so.
People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Cheng Chin-ling (鄭金玲) said that his party hadn't given way to the demand to review the arms bill at the negotiation session.
"We didn't change our stance on opposing extravagant spending on arms procurement," she said.
Cheng said that while NT$200 million had been earmarked for assessing the necessity of submarines, the assessment would require only NT$11.7 billion.
Cheng cited the government's budget statement, in which the ministry said that NT$11.7 billion would be needed to assess the necessity of submarines from this year until 2008.
"It's unreasonable that we need NT$11.7 billion to decide whether to purchase the submarines. Once NT$11.7 billion has been spent, will we still have the option of saying no to submarines?" Cheng asked.
The legislative speaker said that reviewing the budget would not constitute a guarantee that the weapons would in fact be purchased.
"The PFP might accept the agreement if we make this point clear in the conclusion to the negotiation session," Wang said.
Lawmakers also agreed to review nominations for members of the Control Yuan, should President Chen Shui-bian (
The Control Yuan has been idle since the term of its previous members expired in January last year, and consequent nominations have been blocked by the pan-blue camp.
Pan-blue lawmakers also agreed to bring Chen's nomination of Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) as state public prosecutor-general to the legislative agenda. The previous nominee, Hsieh Wen-ding (謝文定), failed to receive the legislature's endorsement in April.
also see story:
Editorial: Enough games: approve the budget
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)