Opposition lawmakers yesterday accused the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of inflating its budgetary needs by sending in a request for a double-digit increase in funding for promotions.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said the MAC had asked for a promotions budget of NT$178 million (US$5.5 million) for next year, a 50 percent increase from this year.
The budget request, which comes amid speculation of deep cuts to other government programs, also represents a five-fold increase from last year when its budget for promotions was about NT$32 million.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Earlier this year, the council came under fire after taking out television spots and advertisements on trains asking the public to support a proposed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China. The pact was signed in June.
Local media reports at the time also said the council required financial institutions and local governments to display banners saying the trade pact would benefit Taiwan’s export-based economy.
“[The MAC] hasn’t made it clear why it is asking for this budget increase,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) told a press conference. “And that’s the problem — we can’t just simply give [the council] money and expect it to fill in the gaps.”
The council said the increasing sum was a reflection of growing cross-strait exchanges, adding that aside from advertisements, the promotions budget is also used to plan conferences and seminars on cross-strait issues.
“The budget proposal reflects to a certain extent the needs of cross-strait operations ... and the successful development of cross-strait relations,” a statement released by Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said.
The proposal is expected to come under stringent review by DPP lawmakers after the legislature convenes its new session on Sept. 24 to discuss and vote on the central government budget for next fiscal year.
Opposition party lawmakers have promised to work on curbing a growing budget deficit, which is expected to hover above 3 percent of GDP next year. The budget deficit is expected to reach NT$429 billion next year compared with a record-high of NT$493 billion this year.
“This shortfall comes even as government borrowing costs are at a record-low — and our debt is showing no signs of going down,” DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has come under increasing pressure to clamp down on growing government expenditure as the economy shows signs of a recovery.
Counting in the budget proposal for next year, the Ma government will have raised a total of NT$1.42 trillion in new debt since assuming office in May 2008. The administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) recorded a total of NT$1.39 trillion in debt during his eight years in office from 2000 to 2008.
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