With the fall legislative session only 15 days away, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus said yesterday it would give priority to three major budget requests this session.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said the central government’s budget proposal for the 2010 fiscal year and the Executive Yuan’s special budget request for post-typhoon reconstruction would be on the caucus’ priority list this session, which begins on Sept. 18.
The legislature raised the cap of the special budget to NT$120 billion (US$3.6 billion) last Thursday.
Also on the caucus’ list is a government request for NT$160.67 billion in funds for public projects. The funds are part of a larger request for a special budget of NT$500 billion to invest in public projects over the next four years to revive the economy and lower unemployment, Lu said.
He said the caucus would also seek to draft and push through a decree on the military’s role in disaster relief.
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has instructed the party’s Policy Committee and think tank to draw up a bill on making the military’s participation in relief efforts more effective as requested by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Meanwhile, on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus’ priorities for the session, DPP Policy Research Committee head Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said lawmakers must first decide whether to allow Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) to brief the legislature on the Cabinet’s administrative plan.
“[The legislature should first deliberate] what it should do if Liu Chao-shiuan is still premier when the session begins because the DPP wants him replaced,” Ker told reporters. “Then we can discuss the budget requests.”
However, the DPP will not boycott the budget request for post-typhoon reconstruction, he said.
Meanwhile, in response to a Presidential Office request to increase the president’s special affairs fund by 30 percent, the DPP said fattening the president’s wallet would not help stimulate Taiwan’s economy.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said on Tuesday a request was made to increase the fund from NT$30 million to NT$40 million.
Wang said the extra NT$10 million would go toward helping marginalized groups.
In 2007, the fund was cut from NT$50 million to NT$30 million following allegations that then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had misused it.
“As the president, [Ma’s] job is to use every dollar of taxpayer money in the most effective way. If he truly intends to improve the lives of the disadvantaged, he should learn how to better utilize existing social resources, not increase his personal cash flow,” DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
The public would never support increasing the fund in a time of recession, he said.
Cheng said the government’s total planned budget had shrunk by 3.9 percent because of the global downturn, yet money earmarked for a presidential musical concert had been raised from NT$1.88 million to NT$3 million.
Cheng called on Ma to make good on his pledge to Transparency International to post a weekly report online detailing the usage of the fund.
“Last year, some of the money from the presidential discretionary fund was spent on purchasing concert tickets, buying local delicacies from Yilan and celebrating the birthday of honorary KMT chairman Lien Chan [連戰],” Cheng said, urging the Presidential Office to disclose how Ma had spent the money since taking office.
In response, Wang said transparency meant not simply withdrawing the funds by submitting claim forms like Chen did.
All Presidential Office expenses are scrutinized in accordance with legal procedures, Wang said.
When asked why the president wanted to help disadvantaged groups through his special affairs fund rather than through the government’s social programs, Wang said some disadvantaged groups were not covered by government programs and the president could offer direct and immediate assistance to them.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS