The DPP legislative caucus yesterday said it wanted the special NT$50 billion budget designed to combat the effects of the SARS outbreak to be passed as early as May 23.
"The party hopes that a quick passage will help the prevention and control measures benefit from financial aid as soon as possible," said Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), the DPP caucus convener.
The extra NT$50 billion was part of the special regulation approved by the Legislative Yuan on May 2.
Ker said that, given the public apprehension over a worsening of the situation, the DPP will propose the speeding up of Premier Yu Shyi-kun's budget briefing at the legislature and finalize a review for the plan at an earlier date.
The briefing will be brought forward as early as May 16, Ker said.
"The passage should be expected at the legislative assembly on May 23, one week earlier than the scheduled agenda," he said.
According to the convener, the budget plan should be discussed at Friday's assembly when the Procedure Committee initiates the plan's legislative procedure tomorrow.
Noting that the speed-up would greatly benefit anti-SARS measures, Ker said that "opposition parties should echo the proposal based upon the legislative consensus that containing the outbreak is the first priority."
The KMT and PFP said they would endorse the proposal.
"The KMT will support all efforts to contain the epidemic since nothing is more important than fighting SARS," Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), said the KMT legislative caucus whip.
Tseng said that the Procedure Committee will lay out the budget plan tomorrow as long as the Executive Yuan can finalize the draft and send it to the legislature this afternoon.
"The party will help the review to be completed at top speed, but we will still carry out the opposition's duty to make sure the money is not used in vain," he said.
Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和), the PFP caucus convener, said: "The PFP will cooperate with every effort to restrain the epidemic," he said. "To fulfill our legislative responsibility, we will cautiously review the budget plan while putting forward the passage quickly."
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS