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.
The donation of offshore patrol vessel Kinmen to the Philippines includes provisions that protect Taiwanese fishers and facilitate security cooperation across the First Island Chain, officials said yesterday. The comment was made during the Cabinet’s comprehensive administrative report at the legislature after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) expressed concerns about the decision to give a ship to a country whose coast guard had in 2013 fired on a Taiwanese trawler and killed its captain without provocation. The Cabinet should lay out the safeguards that have been established to prevent the Philippine government from using the Kinmen to harass, expel
GROWING TIES: The CGA is planning a goodwill mission to the Philippines, in what would be the first time since 1975 a Taiwanese paramilitary vessel has visited the country The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) plans to significantly expand its participation in international security cooperative frameworks and its operational capabilities, a budget proposal for next year showed. The budget indicates a transformation of the CGA from a maritime law enforcement arm into a national defense and intelligence gathering entity capable of tackling larger regional security matters. The proposal showed that personnel from the coast guard’s Intelligence Division and Special Action Support Center are to participate in high-level national security talks with the US. As the CGA has dealt with China’s rising “gray zone” threats around Taiwan, it has become a valuable asset to
The National Police Agency’s Third Special Police Corps yesterday said that from May to July, it intercepted five smuggling operations from China, seizing more than 70,000 counterfeit Beyblades with an estimated infringement value of NT$34.45 million (US$1.08 million). It added that any bootleg unit that reached the local market could present hidden health hazards to players. Beyblades, a line of spinning toy tops used in competitive gaming and developed in Japan by toy company Takara Tomy, have become popular in Taiwan, making them a target for fraudsters. The Third Special Police Corps, dedicated to safeguarding maritime borders and trade lines,
Five customers who made purchases at 7-Eleven stores across Taiwan won the top NT$10 million (US$313,716) special prize in the July-August uniform invoice lottery, including one who spent just NT$27 on photocopying, the convenience store chain said today. The five special prize winners made their purchases at stores in Taoyuan, Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, 7-Eleven operator President Chain Store Corp said. The five winning purchases included NT$29 spent on snacks at a store in Taoyuan's Zhongli District (中壢), NT$27 on photocopying at a store in Taipei's Zhongzheng District (中正), NT$139 on City Cafe coffee and daily necessities at a store in Taipei's
RSS