Lawmakers yesterday agreed to submit legislation proposed by the Cabinet to legitimize its consumer voucher plans to a committee review.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus, which previously said it would allow the bill to skip a preliminary review, compromised during cross-party negotiations.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) told a press conference later yesterday that the caucus made a concession to show its respect for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus’ request that the bill be reviewed.
Lin said the bill was expected to clear the legislative floor next Friday at the earliest.
The Cabinet submitted the bill to the legislature after Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) announced on Tuesday last week that the government planned to issue consumer vouchers valued at NT$3,600 to every citizen by taking out loans of up to NT$82.9 billion (US$2.5 billion).
The bill, if passed, would exempt the proposal from Article 23 of the Budget Law (預算法), which stipulates that public funds raised by loans must be spent on capital investments, and Article 4 of the Public Debt Act (公共債務法), which imposes a ceiling on loans.
The bill would also empower tax authorities to inspect the use and receipt of the vouchers. Those who refuse to be examined or present false information be fined between NT$3,000 and NT$30,000.
Meanwhile, the 69 legislators present during yesterday’s plenary session voted 46 to 23 in favor of allowing a KMT proposal that would increase the ceiling on the government’s budget on increasing investment in public works by NT$500 billion to skip committee review and be referred to cross-party negotiation.
The bill, proposed by KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), seeks to amend the Special Statute for Increasing Investment in Public Construction (擴大公共建設投資特別條例), which was previously proposed by the former DPP administration.
The statute stipulates that government can increase its investment in public construction projects by a maximum NT$500 billion.
Yang’s proposal seeks to raise the amount by another NT$500 billion in the next fiscal year.
The proposal also extends a deadline for making the investments from Dec. 31 next year to Dec. 31, 2012.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS