The Ministry of National Defense’s estimated budget for fiscal 2022 tops those of other government agencies and is expected to grow by at least NT$10 billion (US$357.1 million), or 2.7 percent, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) said yesterday.
The defense ministry is hoping to increase its budget for fiscal 2022 in light of increasing military harassment and threats from China, a source said on condition of anonymity.
Defense spending could surpass this year’s NT$361.7 billion, the source added.
The increase in defense spending for fiscal 2022 would not be lower than the average GDP growth over the past three years, Chu said.
The main cause for the increase would be rising personnel wages due to promotion of officers, he said.
The ministry’s fiscal 2022 budget would have been even higher if the already approved special budget allocated to it for the purchase of 66 F-16V jets were included, he added.
Chu declined to specify whether defense spending would grow by 2 percent or 3 percent next year.
Matters of national defense fall under the jurisdiction of the president, and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will have the final say on the defense budget, he said.
Government spending for fiscal 2022, especially for social welfare — which stands at NT$558.8 billion this year — is expected to surpass that of fiscal 2021, he added.
The government is not planning to increase stock transaction taxes for fiscal 2022, as the TAIEX has continued to reach new heights this year, he said.
The DGBAS is expected to present separate reports to Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Tsai on the planned government budget.
Government agencies are to begin reviewing their budget plans this month and deliver them to the Executive Yuan by late next month for approval, the DGBAS said.
Once the government budget is approved by the Executive Yuan, it would be forwarded to the Legislative Yuan for approval, it said.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS