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.
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