Lee criticized the government’s secrecy over the proposal saying that a two-page report delivered to lawmakers today on the agreement was “incomprehensible.”
“Can all the effects of ECFA on our manufacturing industry be summarized in just two pages?” Lee asked.
DPP lawmaker Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) also questioned the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ (MOEA) Bureau of Foreign Trade for providing subsidies to KMT lawmakers to hold ECFA information sessions, and added that the payments should be investigated by prosecutors to see if there were any improper use of public funds.
Figures provided by Pan showed the subsidies ranged from NT$50,000 to NT$300,000 and were provided to four KMT lawmakers.
Pan also questioned if the KMT had been subsidizing the information sessions with an eye on the upcoming year-end special municipality elections, as the bulk of the sessions were held in the five cities where elections will be held.
Lee also took aim at the cost-effectiveness of the subsidies saying that attendance had been low, despite the MOEA spending NT$4.6 million (US$145,000) to subsidize the sessions.
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