The legislature yesterday kicked off a special session to review the budget for flood-prevention measures along the Keelung River that residents hope will end the severe flooding that has blighted them in recent years.
The project, which will cost an estimated NT$70 billion, is aimed at making Keelung City and Taipei County as safe from flooding as Taipei City against flooding, Premier Yu Shyi-kun told legislators.
The first half of the project, spanning the fiscal years of 2002 to 2005, is expected to cost NT$31.6 billion, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"After careful evaluation, the Cabinet decided to address the part of the project considered the most urgent," Yu said, spelling out the rationale behind his request for the special budget.
The Hsichih area in Taipei County and Peifu community in Keelung City are far more prone to flooding than Taipei City, he said. Rapid development on the banks of the river in recent years justified the need to promptly improve the situation, Yu said.
"Otherwise, we may witness hundreds of residents in these areas suffering serious loss of property during the typhoon season," the premier said.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
But, he said, financial constraints meant the Cabinet could not grant the capital city the NT$1.98 billion demanded by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"I have no preference for one local government over another," Yu said. "Taipei City will also benefit from the work when it is completed."
But opposition lawmakers criticized the decision as being politically motivated and threatened to attach a resolution requiring the Cabinet to include the money in its budget for next year.
KMT legislative whip Lin Yi-shih (
PFP Legislator Chin Huei-chu (
The premier, however, denied any political calculations had been made when preparing the budget.
"My stance in the matter is in full conformity with that of my predecessors Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), Tang Fei (唐飛), and Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄)," Yu said. "But none of them was accused of political bias."
Lin Chuan (
He added that the three projects Ma is proposing are not really part of the flood-prevention program.
Minister of the Finance Lee Yung-san (
He said that Taipei City can issue its own bonds to sponsor the three projects if it insists on carrying them out.
Despite their discontent, the two opposition parties said they would not boycott the budget to avoid punishing innocent citizens.
Despite being in summer recess, 162 lawmakers from all parties attended the session. The interpellation session was expected to last till midnight, with 78 lawmakers registering to question Cabinet officials.
The legislature is slated to hold a joint committee review of the proposed budget today and call for its second and third readings tomorrow.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS