Lawmakers yesterday approved the budget for the state-sponsored Legal Aid Foundation, along with a resolution that asked the foundation to find out why almost 90 percent of Aboriginal litigants have decided to appear in court without the foundation’s attorneys.
The foundation’s mission is to assist people who are in need of professional legal help, but cannot afford legal fees, so they can exercise their constitutional rights to litigation and equality.
It has 22 branches and legal service centers nationwide dedicated to helping Aborigines.
According to the budget proposal, the foundation’s projected expenditure and revenue for the next fiscal year are each total NT$1.52 billion (US$50.05 million).
Since the launch of a special project that assigns lawyers to accompany Aboriginal litigants to court, 8,076 litigants have obtained help from the foundation, a motion sponsored by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米) said.
However, the percentage of Aborigines who have declined the foundation’s help, 87 percent — or 83,057 people — far exceeds the percentage who accepted it, the motion states.
The foundation should investigate the discrepancy to find out if the reason that so many Aborigines have not sought the foundation’s help is because they do not know about its services, the large number of Aboriginal litigants charged with endangering public safety or other reasons, and then report to the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws Committee within two months, it says.
The motion was cosponsored by DPP legislators Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), Chung Kung-chao (鍾孔紹) and Yu Mei-nu (尤美女).
In other developments at the Legislative Yuan, during cross-party negotiations lawmakers reached an agreement to have Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) report on the special budget for the procurement of 66 F-16Vs to the legislature on Tuesday next week and take questions.
The budget for the fighters totals NT$247.2 billion.
The lawmakers also requested that Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發), Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) and Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) attend the Tuesday meeting.
During later negotiations, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) proposed allowing the Legislative Yuan to recess on Dec. 17 so that lawmakers seeking re-election can focus on their campaigns.
The proposal was backed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party caucuses.
Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) asked the New Power Party, which has not given its consent, to consider Ker’s proposal.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
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