Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Yeh Yi-chin (
Yeh told a press conference that she agreed that a systemic review of how the funds are used was required given the problems that have recently arisen.
Yeh added that her proposal did not mean that Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Yeh said that Ma should not have treated money left over from the fund as his own because Article 61 of the Budget Law (
Review
At a separate news conference, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said it was necessary to review the regulations on how special allowances should be used, but that the present disputes should be dealt with according to the law.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (
"If investigations were conducted thoroughly, tens of thousands of sitting and retired government officials [who have or have had access to special allowance funds] might be implicated," Tsai said.
The People First Party (PFP), however, rejected the idea.
"We oppose an amnesty over the special allowance fund scandal because this is not something that should be left to the discretion of legislators," PFP Spokesman Lee Hung-chun (
"No matter how defective the special allowance fund system is, the money is sourced from the hardworking public. There is no reason to pardon officials who pocketed the money," Lee said.
Ulterior motive?
Lee said he suspected that Yeh had suggested the amnesty to protect DPP politicians such as Vice President Annette Lu (
Nevertheless, both KMT and PFP lawmakers said they advocated reforming the special allowance fund system by enacting a special law.
Earlier yesterday, a group of KMT lawmakers held a press conference calling for the enacting of such a law to stipulate clear-cut regulations for government officials.
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