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DPP to address budget shortfall with new team

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is setting up a fund-raising team to address a financial shortage of more than NT$100 million (US$3.05 million) this year even as it plans to lay off 20 percent of its staff, a party official said yesterday.

Citing a decision by the party's Central Standing Committee the previous day, the anonymous official said the team would be headed by the party's treasurer, Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).

The official said the party had budgeted an outlay of NT$453 million for this year, while its revenue is estimated at NT$348 million, resulting in a deficit of NT$105 million.

The DPP has seen its revenues decline by NT$60 million a year since party Chairman Yu Shyi-kun did away with the obligation of each party public official to raise a certain amount of money. Yu did so out of concern that the policy placed the party under the influence of its fund raisers.

As a result, the party now depends largely on government grants and donations from public officials.

In light of the fact that 40 percent of the party's annual outlay consists of salaries for 168 party officials, the official said the party had decided to cut staffing levels by 20 percent this year. The move is expected to save the party NT$10 million.

The party applied to Sunny Bank (陽信銀行), which is run by Chen Shen-hung (陳勝宏), a member of its Central Standing Committee, for a loan of NT$60 million late last year, but was granted only NT$17 million, the official said.
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