Legislators scoffed at what they called excessive spending and high-priced budget requests by the Ministry of National Defense for programs planned this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) criticized the ministry’s approach as taking taxpayers’ money for military units to hold celebration events and promotional activities for the whole year.
Chou said much of the money would be wasted, because the so-called commemoration activities and planned programs were over-budgeted, and most of the funds would go to companies operated by retired military officials, who Chou said have “an inside track” and business connections to secure the tender contracts.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) said the government has budgeted a total of about NT$100 million (US$3.16 million) for commemorative activities and publications and the ministry accounts for more than NT$60 million of that.
Chiu said that 10 years ago, the ministry spent NT$10 million on 60th anniversary activities.
“Why has the budget swelled to six times that amount? Why is it necessary to allocate so much more money this time?” Chiu asked. “The defense budget has dwindled in recent years. However, its budget for promotional activities and for publicity literature has seen a proportional increase year after year. We see the ministry has its priorities all wrong.”
The ministry is organizing observances and concerts, with calendars and books for public distribution, along with “Family Day” programs where select military bases are to be open to the public in the coming months.
An academic conference is also being scheduled for July, where Taiwanese and foreign military experts are to present research papers on the Asia-Pacific theater in the war.
There are also five concerts planned for different cities, and a special exhibition later this year by the Armed Forces Museum and Academia Historica to showcase wartime documents, souvenirs, artifacts and photographs.
The cost for the five concerts totaled NT$30 million, and the ministry asked for an additional NT$10 million for the production and broadcast of wartime programs on television.
TSU Legislator Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) castigated the ministry on its priorities.
“The defense ministry spending lots of money on promotional items and ceremonial events is useless if our armed forces do not know it is their duty to defend our nation against the enemy,” he said. “We have seen numerous cases of Taiwanese military officers caught spying for China in recent years. Many people have lost confidence in the armed forces and question whether our soldiers will fight for Taiwan, or are they secretly cooperating with China?”
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) yesterday authorized the execution of convicted murderer Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), the first death row prisoner to be put to death since President William Lai (賴清德) took office. Huang was to be executed via a firing squad yesterday evening, which would leave Taiwan with 36 convicts on death row. Huang on Oct. 1, 2013, broke into his ex-girlfriend Wang Ping-chih’s (王品智) residence in New Taipei City, where he raped and murdered Wang. He also killed Wang’s mother. Huang was bitter over the breakup and her accusation that he had stolen NT$200,000 (US$6,074) from her bank account, prosecutors said
RSS