The Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program draft bill review should be held again, the legislature’s Economics Committee convenor said yesterday, adding that there were flaws in her chairing of Wednesday’s review, which passed the bill amid chaos.
The convenor, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), said she would reschedule the review for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday next week to allow for detailed, clause-by-clause deliberation.
“I am willing to take responsibility and rearrange the review. Can lawmakers of the opposition party give up hatred, restart conversations, keep their promise to not disrupt the procedure and make efforts to improve the nation’s infrastructure?” Chiu asked, calling on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) not to boycott the draft bill.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
She said the DPP did not boycott a four-year NT$500 billion (US$16.6 billion) economic stimulus project proposed by then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in 2008, which allowed the project to be approved within a month.
KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said the new review is “acceptable, as it is precisely our call,” but demanded a formal decision be announced by the legislative speaker or by a cross-caucus meeting, rather than on Facebook.
The New Power Party caucus yesterday morning had already asked Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) to call a cross-caucus negotiation meeting and restart substantive review, and later said it “welcomes” the DPP caucus’ decision.
Su said Chiu’s proposal is “highly commendable” and he expects there would be no boycott or physical altercations during the new review.
Premier Lin Chuan (林全) sought to assuage concerns and drum up support for the infrastructure plan, calling on all parties to put aside preconceived ideas and treat the program in a practical and reasonable manner.
No part of the plan is to be implemented until environmental impact assessments have been carried out, Lin said in response to concerns expressed by environmental groups over some of the proposed transportation projects.
There would also be no major relocation of people or land requisitions, he added.
He made the comments when speaking at a weekly Cabinet meeting, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Lin addressed these criticisms a day after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the Cabinet was not doing enough to help the public understand the plan.
Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday pushed and shoved each other during a joint committee session before the bill passed its preliminary review.
The statute would allow the Cabinet to spend NT$882.49 billion over eight years to build infrastructure projects across the nation, including new light railways and several rail extension or improvement projects.
There will be no question of leaving future generations in debt as a result of the plan, Lin said.
When announcing the plan last month, Lin said that government spending is expected to lead to NT$1.77 trillion in private-sector investment and add 0.7 percent to the nation’s GDP growth each year over the eight-year period.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS