As the legislature is to vote on the Cabinet's request to void the recent revision to funding rules today, all parties made last-ditch efforts yesterday to drum up support for their positions.
Backers of the veto motion slightly outnumbered the naysayers, with a handful caught between toeing the party line and guarding the interest of their constituencies.
After four hours of closed-door discussion yesterday afternoon, the PFP decided to vote against the Cabinet's proposal in order to uphold what it called the legislature's dignity.
"The caucus has agreed to take a uniform stance on the matter [today]," PFP legislative leader Diane Lee (
With 45 seats in the legislature, the second-largest opposition party will have a critical, if not decisive, role in the vote's outcome.
PFP lawmaker Tsao Yuan-chang (曹原彰) said he has not yet made up his mind about which way to vote. "I will need more time before arriving at a conclusion," he said on the phone last night. "I don't want to defy the party's order or compromise the interests of my constituents."
Tsao, who represents Matsu, said his constituency risks losing millions in aid funds if he votes along party lines, as the Cabinet controls more than 90 percent of Matsu's funds.
Tsao is not alone, however. A dozen colleagues from across the political spectrum all feel the same pressure.
What is vexing them is a funding overhaul adopted by the legislature during a marathon session on Jan. 17 that would allow local governments to keep a bigger share of tax revenues.
Local administrators, led by Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Premier Yu Shyi-kun has said he cannot fulfill the funding mandate without squeezing spending for other programs previously approved by the legislature. Yu and key aides have lobbied hard for the veto motion over the past two weeks.
The DPP was upbeat last night that the veto proposal would prevail. "The opposition camp may not muster enough votes to override the veto motion," DPP Legislative Whip Tsai Huang-liang (
To ensure a victory, the DPP caucus has issued a top mobilization order asking all its 89 members to attend the today's vote.
DPP Legislator Lin Ching-hsin (
Lin, whose constituency of Kaohsiung City will gain NT$12 billion in revenue income under the revision, expressed fear of alienating his supporters if he votes it down.
He said his predicament is aggravated by the party's refusal to punish defiant members. "The policy denies me an excuse not to put constituent interests ahead of partisan concerns," Lin said.
To play it safe, Lin said he would check six colleagues representing Kaohsiung City about which way to vote.
Meanwhile, the KMT decided last night to mete out disciplinary measures against members who fail to uphold the funding amendment in any manner.
"After much consideration, the party found `proper' punishment necessary to ensure maximum unity," KMT Legislative Whip Lin Yi-shih (
A few KMT lawmakers have said they would abstain from the vote in a passive show of protest against the funding overhaul.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the