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Legislative committee gives nod to aid bill

A foreign aid bill sailed through a legislative committee meeting yesterday as lawmakers endeavored to curb problems with Taiwan's foreign aid practices.

Lawmakers incorporated three related bills and revamped existing legislation.

Amid growing pressure from across party lines to make Taiwan's foreign aid more transparent and accountable, the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee reviewed the three related bills on foreign aid yesterday.

After lengthy debate between lawmakers and foreign ministry officials, the bill, formally termed the International Cooperation and Development Law, saw the three related bills combined.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs drew up the Cabinet-initiated bill, DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) sponsored a second bill, while KMT lawmaker Apollo Chen (陳學聖) and DPP Legislator Parris Chang (張旭成) jointly proposed the third.

In what she described as a move to curb problems in Taiwan's effort to establish industrial zones overseas to secure diplomatic ties, independent lawmaker Sisy Chen (陳文茜) insisted on adding an amendment to the bill.

"International cooperation projects, when related to the establishment of industrial zones, should be subject to an open bidding process. The signing of these contracts as well as the release of funds from the related budgetary pool won't begin before a related risk assessment by notable finance consulting firms is completed," Chen's addition stated.

"Any international cooperation project that exceeds NT$50 million should be required to undergo evaluation by a third government body aside from the overseas offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF)," Chen's amendment added.

The ICDF, founded in 1996, is Taiwan's principal body overseeing foreign aid, with a majority of its budget coming from the foreign ministry. The foreign minister serving as the fund's chairman.

Chen also endeavored to revamp the three related bills by saying that the ICDF's annual budget should be sent to the Legislative Yuan for review, a move that triggered criticism from foreign ministry officials.

"If the budgetary bill [put forward by the ICDF] fails to go through the legislature, then we won't be able to implement our related foreign aid schemes," said Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lan Chih-min (藍智民).

Lan added that he was not sure if the addition proposed by some lawmakers would "damage the spirit of the bill" put forward by the Cabinet.
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