Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚) yesterday demanded an apology from Premier William Lai (賴清德) for Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yung-te’s (李永得) insult of her, while Lai said that Lee should adjust his tone when addressing a legislative review.
During a legislative committee meeting on Wednesday last week, Lee rejected Hsu’s budget request for Hakka affairs in Hualien County, saying that he had “an issue with” Hsu and that she was trying to “hijack the budget.”
The comment triggered days of dispute between the pair, and Hsu yesterday raised the issue again during a plenary session at the legislature.
Photo: CNA
She demanded that Lai apologize for Lee’s “personal insult” against her.
While Lai ignored her demand, he said that he had reviewed a recording of the committee meeting and Lee should have communicated better.
Hsu then turned to Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and accused him of being too lenient by allowing a Cabinet member to show contempt of the legislature.
Hsu also raised the issue of the Cabinet’s budgeting, saying that the council’s five-year-old Hakka Romantic Avenue project does not include Hualien County, which showed a lack of government support.
Citing criticism made by Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Lai when he was Tainan mayor, about the Cabinet’s budgets that emphasize northern Taiwan, Hsu said her efforts to seek money for projects for Hualien residents was totally justified.
She asked if a request for a six-year NT$60 billion (US$1.98 billion) flood management budget by five mayors and commissioners of southern municipalities was an attempt to “hijack the budget.”
Lai said that as a former Tainan mayor he understands Hsu’s feelings, but he did not apologize.
On the sidelines of the legislative meeting, Lai said that lawmakers do not always cite correct information when questioning government officials, but the Cabinet has to properly communicate with lawmakers and ensure positive communication.
The Cabinet “has to be humble when facing media supervision” and he has asked Cabinet members to improve the way they interact with lawmakers, adding: “I hope this matter can stop here.”
However, Tsai said he could not accept Hsu’s accusation and he had not tried to engage her in a debate because that would have disrupted the legislative agenda, which was to review the Cabinet’s policy implementation report.
Lawmakers can lodge complaints about the management of the legislative with Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) during cross-caucus meetings instead of making accusations during legislative sessions, Tsai added.
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