Members of the government are to pay their election campaign travel expenses out of their own pockets, the government's chief spokesman said yesterday.
As senior DPP officials and political heavyweights, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) have become the party's "super stumpers" at campaign rallies, and are keeping increasingly busy schedules in the lead-up to the Dec. 1 elections.
A crowd gathers wherever these government officials go. However, they are required to pay for their own trips just like civilians, government spokesman Su Tzen-ping (
"No off-duty government officials that attend campaign rallies may use any public money for these private purposes," Su said, dismissing criticism that most government officials take advantage of public money to meet their campaign funding needs.
President Chen, Vice President Lu and Premier Chang have amassed hefty travel bills as the DPP's chief campaigners.
Su said that members of the government, including the president, are paying their own airfare but that the travel expenses of their entourages, including security personnel, are being met by the government.
"Because they are on duty 24-hours a day to meet the safety concerns of these government officials, the government should pay for their travel," Su said.
Echoing Su's remarks, Kuo Yao-chi (
When they fly to destinations not served by domestic airlines, however, charges are made on the basis of the distance travelled.
Kuo said that the president had made a deposit of some NT$600,000 with the presidential security chief, from which deductions would be made for his campaign travel expenses. She added that the same rules apply to the vice president, the premier and all other government officials.
Additionally, Kuo yesterday said that the president has stated he would pay for any vehicle he uses during his campaign trips even though the law does not require him to do so, "setting a precedent to clearly distinguish government officials' public affairs expenses from those for private purposes."
Rates charged depend on time and distance, she added.
Su said that Cabinet Secretary-general Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) also was making arrangements for politically appointed government officials, who may not be DPP members, to stump for DPP candidates.
Su, however, added that those who were asked to campaign were under no obligation to accept the invitation.
Since the law requires all government officials to maintain neutrality in the course of their public duties during elections, Su said he agreed that regulations should clearly state when and how government officials may engage in campaign activities.
However, since no legal precadent has been established, a gray area exists within which government officials have to decide for themselves whether they have overstepped the bounds, he added.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS