The Cabinet has caved in to pressure from the legislature, academics and the public over a set of guidelines for implementing the emergency decree, deciding yesterday that it will allow the measures to be reviewed by the Legislative Yuan.
Facing accusations of abuse of executive power, Premier Vincent Siew (
"Allowing or not allowing the legislature to review [the priorities] is not just a legal question, but also a political one," Hsieh conceded.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Siew's decision follows a Ministry of Justice report given at yesterday's meeting which outlined the constitutionality of allowing the guidelines to bypass the legislature, which had been the Cabinet's original intention.
"The interaction between the executive and the legislative branches is a politically sensitive issue. Since we have the same priority as the legislature -- relief efforts come first -- there is no need to stir up any tension between us," Hsieh said.
Critics were skeptical of the motives given for the policy change.
DPP legislative caucus leader Chen Chi-mai (
"After all, the KMT still dominates the legislature, so I don't understand why Siew could not have made his decision earlier," Chen said.
Paul Lin (
The guidelines, known as a set of "operational priorities," were first released last Sunday. They cover 14 aspects of reconstruction work to be carried out under the decree, such as financial management, infrastructure projects, appropriation of civil transportation, psychological counseling and compensation for quake victims.
Hsieh said that under the Constitution, the legislature only had the power to decide whether or not to ratify President Lee Teng-hui's (
"We sincerely hope the legislature won't proceed with a substantial review," Hsieh said.
One of the most controversial items on the list of priorities is expected to be one relating to power supply. Specifically, a third high-voltage power transmission line, carrying power from southern Taiwan to the north, is expected to be added to the operational priorities.
The Cabinet had previously claimed that there was no need for private power plants or a third transmission line to be included since widespread electricity shortages had been alleviated.
It accepted a recommendation yesterday from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, however, that a third trunk line was a "high priority."
"Although most of the island's supply has returned to normal, the system is still very fragile and it could be knocked out by an accident. If that happened, Taiwan could face large-scale power rationing measures next summer," said Chang Chang-pang (張昌?), political vice minister of economics.
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