In retaliation for the DPP's recent series of TV commercials alleging certain KMT lawmakers are responsible for killing government budgets, the KMT launched a commercial of its own yesterday.
The move was taken a day after a group of 10 KMT lawmakers named in the DPP advertisements filed a suit with the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office for slander and election law violations.
Attacking the DPP for "openly telling lies for the sake of cheating people out of their votes," the KMT ads highlight the legislature's record in an effort to disprove the DPP allegations.
"The country's economy is undergoing a severe recession, but the DPP, for the sake of the elections, is openly lying and making false accusations," said KMT spokesman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛).
"The DPP is not only cheating the electorate, it is bullying them. Where is the justice?" Wang added.
A total of 15 KMT lawmakers are named in the ads, which are intended to highlight the DPP's claim that the opposition is so "barbarous" that it even cut budgets for the improvement of child welfare and local development.
In addition to a NT$13.1 billion supplementary budget covering child welfare, computer lessons for children and local anti-flood projects, the DPP blamed the opposition for removing another NT$70 billion earmarked for infrastructure budgets.
In the most recent ad launched on Friday, the DPP further attacked the KMT for freezing a NT$19.4 billion subsidy fund for local infrastructure projects.
According to Wang, however, the review process for the NT$19.4 billion budget was delayed because the number of attendants failed to reach the quorum for meetings, adding that the absence of DPP lawmakers was responsible for the problem.
Also, as there was an inter-party consensus to prioritize legislation related to Taiwan's accession to the WTO, the budget was put off until the legislature reopens on Dec. 3, Wang said.
Of the NT$70 billion, the KMT spokesman said, up to NT$40 billion was cut at the request of agencies concerned because they had a problem implementing the budget.
Wang said that while the state-run Taiwan Power Company had asked KMT lawmaker Liao Wan-ju (
Similarly, the NT$2.9 billion for China Petroleum Corp (中油) was removed based on a proposal by DPP legislators Yu Jane-daw (
The NT$29.6 billion for the Chunghwa Telecom was killed because the agency wanted the budget removed, Wang added.
Meanwhile, the NT$13.1 billion supplementary budget was nixed after the Executive Yuan failed to present detailed spending plans in time, according to Wang.
DPP legislators Yu Jan-daw (余政道), Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) and Ker Chien-ming (科建銘) responded to the latest KMT ads yesterday by saying that "the KMT has blurred the focus since they were forced, after inter-party negotiations, to endorse the budget cut."
Yu said that, as convener of the legislature's budget committee, he was told that the KMT would boycott the Cabinet's other budget plans if the DPP failed to cut the budget for China Petroleum.
Yu said that he had no choice but to propose cutting part of the budget in response to the KMT's requests.
Echoing Yu's statements, Wong said that the budget cut was made after inter-party negotiations, adding that opposition parties vetoed the NT$13.1 billion budget and froze the NT$19.4 billion budget by themselves.
Ker, meanwhile, said "the budget cut was made after both sides had bargained," and the DPP, as a minority party, had to make concessions since it could not win the final vote.
Giving full support to his fellow DPP legislators, DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
Hsieh, speaking at a press conference, also shrugged off the KMT's new ads, saying that "the KMT has, in its ads, admitted that it cut the Cabinet's budget of NT$13.1 billion" [as the DPP's ads previously argued].
Hsieh reiterated that the Cabinet presented the legislature with six written and two verbal reports before the NT$19.4 billion budget's review. However, during the legislature's past 10 committee meetings, opposition lawmakers failed to complete the budget's passage, he added.
Hsieh urged opposition lawmakers to hold fair discussions on budget review in the future. The DPP chairman said the KMT should produce concrete evidence if it has concerns about how the DPP has handled the budget process rather than boycott the budget irrationally.
"We therefore hope that, following the ad's airing and monitoring, legislators' performance will be greatly improved," Hsieh added.
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MISSILE MISSION: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology said it does not make policy, but would be glad to obtain certification to assemble the missiles The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is in the process of getting certified to assemble an additional 1,985 Stinger missiles on top of those from US arms sales, a senior defense official said yesterday. Washington is to send a team to Taiwan to evaluate the institute’s manufacturing capabilities and information security, said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. The ministry initially bought 500 missiles for the army and navy, but later increased the order to 2,485 in response to an increase in Beijing’s military activities around the nation, and to meet the army’s urgent need
RSS