The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday morning occupied the legislative speaker’s podium to protest the Cabinet’s NT$880 billion (US$29 billion) budget proposal for the “Forward-looking Infrastructure Construction Project,” calling for 10 public hearings to be held before the proposal is reviewed, which a cross-caucus negotiation in the afternoon cut to six.
The legislature’s question-and-answer session ended on Tuesday and lawmakers yesterday started reading bills, with the Cabinet’s budget proposal for the infrastructure project one of the bills to be referred to legislative committee.
KMT lawmakers, clad in caucus uniforms, obstructed the proceedings by occupying the legislative speaker’s podium and shouting criticism of the project, demanding that at least 10 public hearings be held before the proposal is reviewed by six of the eight legislative committees.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The placards they placed on the podium read: “The real purpose of the ‘Forward-looking’ project is buying votes,” “The project emphasizes Democratic Progressive Party [DPP]-governed regions,” “Is it so easy for the government to squander nearly NT$1 trillion when the people are suffering” and “10 public hearings have to be held to break this ‘forward-looking’ black box.”
A cross-caucus negotiation was called, at which the ruling DPP caucus agreed to hold the public hearings, but the two parties locked horns over the number of the hearings and who should preside over them.
The KMT caucus demanded that 10 public hearings be held, four in central and southern Taiwan.
The DPP disagreed and said that lawmakers are only responsible for hearings held at the legislature.
The two caucuses agreed that six of the eight legislative committees should review the budget proposal and that six public hearings should be held.
It was agreed that only one public hearing should be held each day, to prevent a committee rushing through the required procedure.
DPP headquarters later issued a statement “expressing regret” over the KMT caucus’ obstruction of the project.
“The KMT, barbaric as it might be, should not obstruct the nation’s economic development and the building of local infrastructure,” DPP spokesman Ruan Jhao-syong (阮昭雄) said.
The Forward-looking Infrastructure Construction Project, which was announced last week, is to focus on “green” energy, water resources, railways, digital infrastructure, and urban and rural development.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS