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?”
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