The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday announced that it would not review the budget for next year until the government rectifies alleged illegal partisan campaigning against next month’s referendums.
The Executive Yuan is using public funds to push its partisan opposition to the Dec. 18 referendums in contravention of the principle of administrative neutrality, KMT caucus whip Alex Fai (費鴻泰) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Fai cited as an example a magazine advertisement from the Executive Yuan claiming that US pork was as safe as US beef, which he said was made using public money to support the US pork industry.
The caucus is to halt budgetary reviews until Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) corrects the error and issues a public apology, he said.
Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) rejected the claim, saying that the Cabinet is the legal opposing party to the referendums and therefore has a duty to present its position to the public.
A budget reading was clarified in May by the Ministry of Civil Service under the Examination Yuan, but the KMT insists on its own interpretation, he said.
In its statement, the ministry clearly defined the Cabinet’s obligation to defend its positions, as the four referendums involve major government policies, Lo said.
“It is therefore not unlawful for public officials to express the policy positions of their agency when charged to do so,” he quoted the ministry as saying.
The Cabinet has the right and responsibility to publicize government policy through various means and explain its opposition to the four referendums, Lo said.
It is also imperative for the government and public utilities to defend their positions on the two referendums involving energy facilities, as they not only affect the government’s energy transition plan, but also the stability of the power supply and public safety, Lo said.
The KMT’s decision to halt review of the budget would severely affect government operations, including salary increases for public servants, welfare services and subsidies for necessities such as child and elderly care, Lo added.
“The Cabinet deeply regrets this distortion of the law and reckless political manipulation,” he said, urging legislators to properly exercise their constitutional duty to review the budget.
Four questions are to be on the ballot in the referendums: restarting construction on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, relocating a natural gas terminal project to protect algal reefs off Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音), banning the importation of pork with traces of ractopamine and holding referendums alongside elections.
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