The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday called on government agencies to stop infighting and investigate delays in handing out NT$400 million (US$12.4 million) in relief funds raised to help Asian countries devastated by deadly tidal waves in December.
"We understand the main reason for the delay is that it has taken some time for the government to process tax exemption receipts for donors," DPP caucus whip William Lai (
Lai also called for an end to squabbles between former GIO head Lin Chia-lung (
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
Echoing Lai's requests, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"The government must make an effort to solve the problem because it has seriously sabotaged the nation's credibility and image," he said.
While Lin blamed the legislature for failing to amend certain regulations to make it easier to allocate the funds, Wang said the government should have studied the law more carefully in the first place and let private charity groups take care of the matter.
"It only shows that the government fails to understand the situation it is in," he said. "It is now too late to find excuses for the mess they have made."
Criticizing the government-initiated fundraising scheme as "crudely planned," People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Sun Ta-chien (
If Hsieh fails to do so, Sun said his caucus will team up with other opposition parties to establish an investigation task force during the next legislative session to find out the truth.
PFP lawmaker Wu Ching-chih (
Meanwhile, Yao and Lin appeared together yesterday and promised that the NT$400 million in donations will be distributed to local charities before Sept. 5.
The idea to raise NT$400 million for tsunami relief originated with Lin, when he was minister of the GIO.
The plan involved seeking donations from the public and distributing them to victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia. The charities were to pay tsunami victims from their own money first, and be reimbursed by the public's donations.
However, since the money is still in GIO's bank account, the agency has come under criticism. Some local media even reported that, "Yao has been cleaning up for Lin, who started the project and then left to campaign to work on his campaign for Taichung City."
Yao, however, denied any ill feeling yesterday.
"There is no argument between us," Yao said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS