President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said he is willing to report on government policies and the special national defense budget at the Legislative Yuan, if there is a consensus among the governing and opposition party caucuses and if it is in compliance with constitutional procedure.
Lai on Wednesday announced a bill for an additional eight-year NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.9 billion) national defense budget.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) on Friday said the legislature should invite Lai to present his policies to lawmakers.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
According to the Act Governing the Legislative Yuan’s Power (立法院職權行使法), the president can report major national policies to the Legislative Yuan if the proposal is endorsed by more than one-quarter of all legislators at the legislature’s plenary session and scheduled by the Procedure Committee; or the president can request to report to the Legislative Yuan with its approval.
In response to media queries, Lai yesterday said that if having him report at the legislature is a consensus among the governing and opposition party caucuses, and if it complies with constitutional procedure, then he is willing to report his government policies and the special defense budget to the public, and obtain the legislature’s support.
The Presidential Office on Friday also said it is willing to make efforts on any approach that can strengthen national defense, promote national solidarity, and facilitate dialogue between the ruling and opposition parties to ensure the people are safe from threats, especially in a time when neighboring countries are showing cross-party unity and commitment to boosting self-defense resilience.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus secretary-general Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) yesterday said that if the opposition parties sincerely invite the president to discuss the special defense budget, allowing the government to explain what it means for Taiwan to the Legislative Yuan, then her caucus would be glad to see it happen.
However, the Legislative Yuan must comply with the constitutional procedure, she said, adding that there is room for discussion and dialogue if the opposition is willing to support the budget.
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said he holds “no expectation at all” if Lai’s report to the legislature is only one-sided political propaganda without taking questions from lawmakers, adding that Lai had promised to do so during last year’s presidential election.
Additional reporting by Lee Wen-hsin
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