President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) met Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators for dinner yesterday, calling on them to pass a general budget bill and other bills before the new legislative session begins on Friday.
“The KMT has complete power over the country and we must take full responsibility … The government will strengthen communication with party legislators and hopefully the two sides will be more cooperative,” Ma said yesterday during dinner at the Taipei Guest House.
Ma will hold two other dinners with party legislators today and on Friday to hold discussions with them and seek the their support for his nomination of the Examination Yuan president, Control Yuan vice president, Control Yuan members and grand justices.
The Presidential Office will present the nomination list to the Legislative Yuan on Friday.
The legislature rejected Ma’s initial nominations of Chang Chun-yen (張俊彥) as Examination Yuan president, Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) as Control Yuan vice president and three other nominees affiliated with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) during previous legislative session.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and top KMT officials were also present at the dinner.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the casualties and damage brought by Typhoon Sinlaku, Ma promised to visit disaster-hit areas in Taichung and Nantou today after being criticized for failing to address the needs of the victims and their families.
Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chih (王郁琦) dismissed criticism of the Ma administration’s slow response to the disaster and said Ma would inspect the areas today.
DPP legislators criticized Ma yesterday for attending ceremony in Taipei yesterday while failing to inspect damaged areas.
DPP caucus whip Chang Hua-kuan (張花冠) told a press conference yesterday that Ma held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of Nankang Software park in the morning, attended a press conference at Kuo Kwang Biotechnology Company in the afternoon held a dinner with KMT legislators in the evening.
Chang said Ma did not care about the people who were affected by the typhoon.
She said Ma did not inspect Taichung County’s Houfeng Bridge (后豐橋), which collapsed on Sunday, Nantou County’s Fengchiu Tunnel (豐丘隧道), which was crushed by a mudslide, or the dangerous Lushan Hot Springs Area.
Chang also demanded that Liu resign over the collapse, claiming that it reflected the manner in which the Ma administration has ruled the country since May.
DPP Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said it was irresponsible for the government to only allocate NT$180 million (US$5.6 million) for repair work at 10 bridges deemed dangerous throughout the country.
KMT Caucus Secretary-General Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) dismissed criticism of the president, urging the DPP not to play the blame game amid the typhoon relief.
Chang said each government chief had his or her own responsibility, adding there was no need for the premier and the president to take inspection trips after every natural disaster.
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Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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