Opposition lawmakers yesterday accused the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of inflating its budgetary needs by sending in a request for a double-digit increase in funding for promotions.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said the MAC had asked for a promotions budget of NT$178 million (US$5.5 million) for next year, a 50 percent increase from this year.
The budget request, which comes amid speculation of deep cuts to other government programs, also represents a five-fold increase from last year when its budget for promotions was about NT$32 million.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Earlier this year, the council came under fire after taking out television spots and advertisements on trains asking the public to support a proposed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China. The pact was signed in June.
Local media reports at the time also said the council required financial institutions and local governments to display banners saying the trade pact would benefit Taiwan’s export-based economy.
“[The MAC] hasn’t made it clear why it is asking for this budget increase,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) told a press conference. “And that’s the problem — we can’t just simply give [the council] money and expect it to fill in the gaps.”
The council said the increasing sum was a reflection of growing cross-strait exchanges, adding that aside from advertisements, the promotions budget is also used to plan conferences and seminars on cross-strait issues.
“The budget proposal reflects to a certain extent the needs of cross-strait operations ... and the successful development of cross-strait relations,” a statement released by Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said.
The proposal is expected to come under stringent review by DPP lawmakers after the legislature convenes its new session on Sept. 24 to discuss and vote on the central government budget for next fiscal year.
Opposition party lawmakers have promised to work on curbing a growing budget deficit, which is expected to hover above 3 percent of GDP next year. The budget deficit is expected to reach NT$429 billion next year compared with a record-high of NT$493 billion this year.
“This shortfall comes even as government borrowing costs are at a record-low — and our debt is showing no signs of going down,” DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has come under increasing pressure to clamp down on growing government expenditure as the economy shows signs of a recovery.
Counting in the budget proposal for next year, the Ma government will have raised a total of NT$1.42 trillion in new debt since assuming office in May 2008. The administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) recorded a total of NT$1.39 trillion in debt during his eight years in office from 2000 to 2008.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS