The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) yesterday agreed to prioritize the review of the central government budget at the Legislative Yuan’s extraordinary session.
At a cross-party negotiation held in Taipei to discuss the extraordinary session, which began yesterday and is to run through Friday next week, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said he hoped the session could be simplified and focused on the national budget.
PFP Legislator Chou Chen Hsiu-hsia (周陳秀霞) and KMT caucus whip Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) also agreed that the budget should be the priority.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
However, the New Power Party (NPP) suggested that the session also be used to discuss other matters.
NPP Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said that he does not oppose tackling the general budget at the extraordinary session, but it could, in response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) New Year’s Day address, also be used to review bills related to the organization of a national transportation safety and investigation agency, immigration and the protection of classified national security information.
Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said those bills could be prioritized for review in the next legislative session, which begins next month.
The Legislative Yuan should be able to reach a conclusion on those bills next month, he added.
With regards to the KMT caucus’ plans to boycott the review of the Transitional Justice Commission’s budget, Su urged lawmakers to express their opinions through other methods besides denying the budget request, which would render the commission unable to pay its staff.
He said the caucuses should be able to communicate and negotiate a solution, he said.
The KMT does not oppose transitional justice, but it must be “authentic” justice, Chiang said.
The commission has no official chairperson or deputy chairperson and should not be functioning, he said, adding that the vacant positions are still being filled illegally.
The commission must first earn the people’s trust, and only by functioning legally would it have a chance of doing so, he said.
It is therefore reasonable to freeze the budget before the commission officially nominates candidates to fill the chairperson and deputy chairperson seats, he added.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
RSS