The Executive Yuan approved the 2009 budget statement yesterday, with the budget for national defense the only one to suffer cuts.
The brief version of the budget statement said national defense spending would be NT$10.4 billion (US$331 million) lower than the amount earmarked for this year.
“This is because we are still negotiating the arms procurement deal [with the US],” Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Shih Su-mei (石素梅) said without elaborating.
Shih would not say whether she was referring to the US$11 billion arms package or a plan to purchase 66 F 16C/D fighters at an estimated cost of US$5 billion.
“We write the budget to reflect reality, but for confidentiality reasons I cannot provide details,” she said.
The central government’s budget estimates from next year stated that cash inflow would increase by NT$84.9 billion to NT$1.7052 trillion, while spending would go up NT$118.3 billion to NT$1.7117 trillion.
“The increased spending will focus on education, technology, culture, the economy and benefits for the poor,” Shih said.
The budget earmarked for the “i-Taiwan 12 projects,” one of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) major economic plans was NT$107.3 billion, NT$65.3 billion of which would go toward building a transportation network around the country.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said yesterday that because of limited budgets, the Cabinet had incorporated as many items from the i-Taiwan 12 plan into the statement as possible.
Meanwhile, the government estimated that state-owned firms would suffer a loss of NT$27.3 billion next year because of the increase in electricity prices.
Ma’s election platform proposed putting NT$3.99 trillion into the ambitious “i-Taiwan 12 projects” over the next eight years to boost the economy.
The 12 infrastructure projects include linking rapid transit networks in cities and counties across the country, enhancing flood control measures, forestation, revitalizing farmland and marine areas, and turning Taoyuan into an “airport city.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS