The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday slammed former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) comments that the government was squandering money on national defense, saying he has embarrassed himself by ignoring China’s rapidly expanding armed forces and military threat against Taiwan.
During a speech on Sunday at an event in Bangkok, Ma said the government had taken on a heavy burden by allocating large sums of money for military expenditure, notably to buy US-made weapons, as payment for “protection,” as former US president Donald Trump has said.
“Money-pit bills” to buy arms would ruin public finances and only benefit the US defense industry, he said.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
At a news conference in Taipei yesterday, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that “portions of the government’s fiscal budget are for military spending to protect our country.”
“We actively engage in arms procurement from other countries to bolster our national defense, as well as to support indigenous weapons production,” she said.
“So what is wrong with building up national defense to safeguard our own country? Many countries around the world have higher military budgets than Taiwan? Are all their defense expenditures ‘money pits’?” she asked.
Ma has embarrassed himself on the world stage by calling military spending as squandering money, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.
“During Ma’s eight years as president, the government budget for national defense totaled more than NT$300 billion [US$9.19 billion at the current exchange rate]. It was not much, but he did allocate a budget,” Wang said.
China in March approved a national defense budget of more than 1.665 trillion yuan (US$234.35 billion), a 7.2 percent increase from last year, Wang added.
“We are the one under hostile intimidation by China, but Ma says Taiwan spending on the military is squandering money. Ma chooses to grovel and kowtow to China, while Beijing expands its budget to escalate its military threat against Taiwan,” he said.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) yesterday also criticized Ma’s comments.
“Allocating a budget for national defense depends on the military threat against Taiwan, and the amount should be adjusted as needed,” she said.
Taiwan faces more intense hostility from China compared with when Ma was in office, she said.
“Taiwan must invest in national defense, which has nothing to do with Trump’s talk about ‘paying for protection,’ nor Ma’s talk of ‘money-pit bills.’ It is necessary to allocate a budget to build up a more effective deterrent against hostile military threats from abroad,” she said.
The government must carefully plan the national defense budget to enhance Taiwan’s deterrence, while engaging in dialogue with China to reduce hostilities. This is the best way for Taiwan to achieve long-term peace and security,” Lin said.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS