Lien seeks more relief aid

"It should recognize its role as limited to being a facilitator in helping relief, rather than an unlimited one which supplies unlimited funds," he said. According to finance ministry statistics, central government outstanding debts are now around NT$2.2 trillion.

"I must give him (Lien) credit for trying hard to do things right," Chiang said. "But he is not necessarily doing the right things."

New Party legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴?h葆), also an expert in finance, said the government should address the problems at credit cooperatives of farmers' associations but should first investigate which problems were actually generated by the quake since the credit cooperatives were financially troubled before the tremor. "It seems that the government only knows how to spend borrowed money," he said.