The head of the Ministry of National Defense's political warfare department, General Hu Chen-pu (
The 12 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, he said, would also be included in the regular defense budget, which would leave the eight diesel-electric submarines, worth NT$299 billion (US$9.0 billion) as the only item in the special budget.
This was the best the ministry could offer the legislature, Hu said.
He said that to have all three systems added to the regular defense budget was not feasible.
Hu's offer came as the pan-blue alliance prepared to send the weapons bill from the legislative floor back to the Procedure Committee for further screening.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (
Before the Dec. 3 elections, the pan-blue coalition of the KMT, the People First Party (PFP) and blue-friendly independents held 115 seats, while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), held 100.
After the Dec. 3 polls, which saw four KMT legislators win local posts that will result in them vacating their seats, the pan-blue camp will only retain a majority of 111 out of the 220 seats, with independent lawmakers retaining nine seats.
PFP caucus whip Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) criticized the pan-green camp for staging a "surprise attack" during Tuesday's committee meeting in order to push through all bills listed on the committee agenda, including the arms procurement package. The bills passed the committee because of a smaller attendance by the committee's pan-blue members.
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In related news, DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (
While the pan-blue camp will continue to dominate the Procedure Committee, Chai said that the only way to show the nation's resolve to defend itself is to put the arms procurement package to a popular vote and let the people have the final say on the matter.
Chai also pledged to put the party asset bill to a national ballot, as well as the abolition of township chief and village warden elections.
The party asset bill is designed to compel the KMT to return its stolen party assets.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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