Despite harsh criticism, Taipei City councilors will take a NT$2.6 million trip to Palau as scheduled on Sunday, as all the expenses of the trip were legitimately approved.
"It is absolutely not an extravagant trip. Palau is only a small island. The trip is not luxurious at all," Pan Hsing-I (潘行一), the director of the Public Relations Office of the city council said yesterday. Pan is in charge of organizing the annual summer trip for city councilors and city council workers.
Pan stressed that the annual group trip for city councilors is a tradition, and a budget of around NT$2 million was legitimately approved by the city council.
"We hope the public could support us, and we will definitely go on the trip this time," Pan said.
With a full or half subsidy from the city council, about 80 people, including 15 city councilors from all four political parties, 45 members of their family, 10 city council workers and 10 reporters will enjoy the five-day holiday trip to Palau from Aug. 22 to Aug. 26. According to the itinerary, the group will stay in a luxurious holiday resort in Palau, which charges over NT$10,000 a room per night.
This was not the first time that the city council's vacations triggered controversy. Last summer, a city council holiday getaway to Hawaii was cancelled after strong public opposition.
Although many citizens think the trip was a waste of taxpayer money, Taipei City Council Speaker Wu Bi-chu (吳碧珠) stressed that the city's total leisure budget of NT$4 million typically used to fund city councilors' annual trips and it "helps promote fellowship among councilors."
"Every city council, and also the Legislative Yuan and other Cabinet-level departments have similar activity and leisure budgets," Wu said. "I suggest the central government revise the regulation,s as many citizens complained that they are not happy with it."
Wu and deputy speaker Lee Hsin (李新) will also go on the trip with their families.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Councilor Li-Keng Kuei-fang (厲耿桂芳) yesterday said that she hoped people look down on city councilors, and consider the pressure of their jobs.
"I think it is good for city councilors' health to go on holidays after their busy stressful working days," Li-Keng said.
"I believe that Taipei citizens are not so stingy, and will permit us to have a reasonable vacation," she added.
Chou Po-ya (周柏雅), Democratic Progressive Party caucus leader in the council, said he will not go on the trip, but he thought the budget had no legal problems.
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