After a meeting yesterday of the Cabinet-level post-disaster reconstruction commission, the Cabinet is expected today to declare a number of "operational priorities" that it says will help implement the emergency decree.
At the same time, the Cabinet is expected to shelve plans that would permit the building of a controversial power plant in Taoyuan county.
Critics, however, have objected to the detailed "operational priorities," dismissing the move as an attempt to create "a blank check" policy under which the Cabinet can issue whatever orders it wishes, ignoring the legislature's authority.
Premier Vincent Siew (
Government spokesman Chen Chien-jen (
Chen added that because electricity supplies became more stable last week, there was no longer a need to include the controversial Cheng Sheng power plant as a priority.
"After the 921 earthquake, we did consider whether to exercise the emergency decree to restore power supplies as soon as possible. However, that stage has already passed, and most power supplies have recovered from the damage. We have therefore excluded the power plant from the operation priority,'' Chen said.
The plant, backed by the Ever Fortune Group, earlier passed environmental hurdles and received construction licenses. Work began on the project last June but stopped after local residents raised environmental concerns.
Much of the recent criticism stems from allegations that the Ministry of Economic Affairs was ready to proceed with the plant's construction under the auspices of the emergency decree.
Furthermore, Liu Yu-shan (
"Since electricity shortages have been alleviated, plus the fact that the emergency decree content did not specifically mention power policy -- if we made it a priority it could cast doubts as to the motives of the government,'' Liu said.
For clarification, Liu said yesterday that the emergency decree has been divided into three different levels:
President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) announced the decree on Sept. 25 on the basis of constitutional authority in response to the quake; second, at the Executive Yuan level, the Cabinet, according to the content of the emergency decree, will draw up implementation guidelines; third, during the process of implementation, the ministries can establish necessary criteria based on the Cabinet's guidelines.
"The Cabinet-level operational priorities act as a pivot between the Presidential Office and the lower ministries," Liu said.
"While drafting the operational priorities, we have treated the emergency decree as sacrosanct. Not a single article of the priorities can overrule the scope or the meaning of the decree,'' he added.
In response to concerns that local gangsters are bidding for public reconstruction projects, Liu said the government has taken legal action to prevent that from happening. He said there was no need to include provisions against gangsters in the guidelines.
Chen Chien-jen noted there are 15 articles in the operational priorities that cover financial resources, how to borrow public land, simplifying land administration procedures and construction affairs and how to expropriate civil resources.
Meanwhile, both academics and opposition leaders raised objections to the Cabinet's decision, saying once the government establishes the priorities, there would be too much ability for the administration to abuse its power.
"At the most, the emergency decree has only given authority to the Executive Yuan. If the Cabinet hands over powers to related ministries, then the emergency decree approved by the legislature has lost its meaning because they can't monitor what the ministries do,'' said Chen Shin-min (
"Under such circumstances, the decree originally authorized by the legislature can be distorted like a blank check,'' he said.
"The operational priorities based on the emergency decree are not the same as other laws, so the Cabinet could leave the legislature out of the process and proclaim their priorities as they wish,'' he added.
While Liu acknowledged the "blank check" argument, DPP legislative caucus leader Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said yesterday there could be larger issues at stake.
"If the Cabinet really makes up its mind to create its own operational priorities without the confirmation of the legislature, it would seriously infringe the Constitution, in connection to people's rights and obligations. We would apply for constitutional ruling by the Council of Grand Justices,'' he said.
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