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.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS