Publisher and former national policy adviser Rex How (郝明義) yesterday called for a public debate with Premier Lin Chuan (林全) over the government’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, whose review process he said lacked in transparency, while the Executive Yuan criticized How for “stigmatizing” the plan with false accusations.
A signature drive launched by How and a group of campaigners to petition for an open debate on the NT$882.49 billion (US$29 billion) project has collected more than 5,000 signatures, and How yesterday invited Premier Lin Chuan (林全) to debate the project with experts.
The government has failed to explain its plans in detail and in the program’s official document a description of just 313 characters was provided for an MRT project in Kaohsiung that would cost NT$145.47 billion, How said.
Photo: CNA
A draft act on the program received the approval of a legislative committee, but not a single word of the act was modified, How said.
In the next phase of the legislative review, the draft is to be discussed at cross-caucus negotiations, a process criticized for its lack of transparency, so a public debate with the premier is needed to ensure transparency and sufficient discussion, How said.
At a meeting last month, How asked Lin to report to the legislature during the extraordinary legislative session, but Lin refused, saying it would “disrupt the [legislative] system” and his report would be “obstructed by opposition parties.”
He invited Lin to take part in a televised debate, where there would be no interference from opposition parties, How said.
The Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program does not exclude the possibility of large-scale expropriations, despite Lin promising no such actions would be taken, New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said, adding that the premier should answer doubts raised regarding the project.
Meanwhile, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said the official document of the project is a 370-page report with detailed descriptions of each infrastructure project, but How had cited a simplified version to create a false impression and “stigmatize” the plans.
The premier would not dodge public scrutiny and would report to the Legislative Yuan when the plan’s budget proposals are being reviewed, but not when the draft act for the project is being reviewed, Hsu said.
Only two MRT projects involve large-scale expropriations — an MRT line in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) and another in Taoyuan — but those projects and the expropriations were approved prior to the program, Hsu said.
No large-scale expropriation is required for other infrastructure projects, he said.
Cross-caucus negotiation is a formal legislative discussion with review functions, Hsu said, calling on critics of the plan to be rational when debating the project.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
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STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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