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Review faults NSB for unexplained budget increases

The legislature's Budget Center is calling for better oversight of the National Security Bureau's (NSB) funding, after a review found large and unexplained increases in the bureau's travel budget.

"The NSB should not have expanded its secret budgets so much. Budget increases that do not touch on core national security issues should be made public and be open to scrutiny from both the Legislative Yuan and the public,"the center's review stated.

The Budget Center is responsible for examining and making suggestions on each government bureau's budgets before forwarding them to legislative committees for deliberation.

The review said the bureau has raised its travel budget too much. The bureau asked for NT$18 million (US$535,000) for its travel budget next year, up from just NT$13.4 million this year, and NT$3 million last year, according to the review.

The review said that the bureau's budget proposal did not explain why transportation fees are rising so quickly.

Additionally, the budget center said that the bureau has offered substantial bonuses to its intelligence and special service agents, but those extra expenditures are kept in secret budgets away from public scrutiny and oversight.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Hsiu-yen (盧秀燕), who is on the legislature's defense committee, said yesterday that she agreed with the budget center's review, and that she and other opposition legislators would seriously check on the NSB's budget for next year.

She said the bureau has attempted to keep its activities and budgets secret in name of national security, but in reality to avoid public scrutiny. Additionally, more oversight is needed after scandals damaged the bureau's reputation, Lu said.

Last year a former housekeeper of the presidential family, Ms. Lo, took advantage of a military official assigned to serve as a driver for the first family. Lo ordered him to drive her around on personal business and clean her house.

More recently, an official in the bureau's special service center took a taxi while drunk and quarreled with the taxi driver. When the cab arrived at the special service center, the driver radioed more than 20 other taxis, who all drove up and surrounded the center.
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