The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage.
The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion).
It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
It would also file for a constitutional interpretation if KMT lawmakers push the proposals through by making them special statute bills, she added.
The three bills propose constructing an expressway for Hualien and Taitung counties to link to the national highway system with an estimated budget of NT$250 billion; building a high-speed rail system in eastern Taiwan that would link to the national line at a cost of NT$1 trillion; and extending Freeway No. 6 (also known as the Central East West Freeway) for vehicle traffic between Taichung City and Puli (埔里), which would run through the Central Mountain Range and end in Hualien City at a cost of more than NT$800 billion.
DPP legislators oppose these “three money pit projects” as they lack input from transportation and engineering experts, disregard environmental impact assessments, are devoid of transparency and financial accountability, and had bypassed the deliberation process in the legislature, Wu said.
Photo: CNA
Moreover, the construction of these projects would pass through indigenous land, which requires the consent of indigenous communities as stipulated in the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法), DPP lawmakers said.
Building transportation links through the earthquake-active zones of the Hualien-Taitung Rift Valley (花東縱谷) and the east coast region also poses a geohazard, they said.
On the fiscal front, the proposed projects would contravene Article 70 of the Constitution, which stipulates: “The Legislative Yuan shall not make proposals for an increase in the expenditures in the budgetary bill presented by the Executive Yuan,” Wu said.
KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁), a former Hualien county commissioner, yesterday said he is fighting for public projects and improved transportation links to bring economic prosperity, enhance travel safety and improve the livelihoods of Hualien County residents.
Taiwan People’s Party caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said he supports the KMT’s proposals, but added that he has asked for additional clauses to ensure fiscal restraint so that the projects would not sink into debt or use the state’s special funds.
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