The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has prepared close to 4,000 motions to slash or freeze the general budget for next year that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) hopes to pass during the extraordinary session starting next week, KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said yesterday.
The second legislative plenary session started its recess yesterday, with lawmakers scheduled to meet from Wednesday to Jan. 26 for an extraordinary session.
The state-run enterprises’ budget proposal for this year, the review of which had been obstructed by the KMT submitting more than a 1,000 motions for changes since the last legislative plenary session, finally cleared the floor yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
However, the general budget proposals for next year are still in limbo, with Sufin yesterday claiming to have prepared about 4,000 motions to slash and freeze funding.
These motions will surely be put to vote and drag out the meeting, which is what the KMT caucus wants, the convener said, urging the DPP caucus to engage in negotiations.
Other than the budget proposals for state-run enterprises, the legislature also cleared several amendment bills yesterday.
Amendments were made to the Act for the Development of Biotech and New Pharmaceuticals Industry (生技新藥產業發展條例) to relax the definition of applications for “high-risk medical devices” and add “biotech and new pharmaceutical products” as a new category.
The Patent Act (專利法) was amended so that those who apply for an invention patent now are allowed an application period of 12 months after disclosure. The restrictions on how the disclosure are made have been scrapped.
Amendments to the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法) were made to increase penalties for violations of the act. Those charged with illegally disposing of waste resulting in death can be sentenced to seven years to life imprisonment, with the fine also increasing from no more than NT$30 million (US$929,397) to NT$15 million. Fines for waste disposal resulting in serious injuries were also increased from NT$9 million to NT$25 million, in addition to three to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Prison terms for disposing of waste that leads to human endangerment were increased from one year to between five years and seven years, and the fine raised from NT$6 million at NT$20 million.
The amended act also states that waste incinerators in each city and county should prioritize the municipality’s general waste rather than industrial waste.
The amendment bill to the Special Service Act (特種勤務條例) was cleared to provide medical care and nursing care if special service personnel suffers serious injuries resulting in permanent disability while on duty.
The amendment to the Tax Collection Act (稅捐稽徵法) to extend the tax collection period for taxpayers who owe more than NT$10 million in taxes by five years, thereby pushing the deadline to March 4, 2022, also passed its third reading.
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
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
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,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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