President William Lai (賴清德) is to promulgate new laws passed by the Legislative Yuan, Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said yesterday.
The Legislative Yuan approved controversial amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) on Friday last week.
Some have suggested that Lai could refuse to promulgate the laws, or that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) could refuse to countersign them, but Pan confirmed that both men would uphold the Constitution.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
When asked what Lai meant when he said “democratic disputes should be resolved with even greater democracy,” Pan said the president was not implying that he would hold a referendum.
Instead, Pan said, the government would consider all its options, such as the Executive Yuan requesting the Legislative Yuan to reconsider it or petitioning the Constitutional Court to rule on it.
However, refusing to sign or promulgate the new bills was not one of the options, he added.
The Executive Yuan has so far only received the amendments to the Constitutional Court Act, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said today.
Once all three acts are received, the Executive Yuan will exercise its power to consider taking measures such as urging that they be reconsidered prior to the Jan. 2 deadline of the laws needing to be promulgated, Lee said.
The laws severely impact the administration’s ability to govern the country and carry out plans, including subsequent budgets and planned salary increases, and there is a high likelihood of the Executive Yuan filing an objection, she added.
If promulgated, amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures would result in a NT$375.3 billion (US$11.49 billion) reduction of the central government’s budget, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said.
The new law on the allocation of government revenue could reduce the defense budget by up to 28 percent, amounting to NT$80 billion, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
"It would have a serious impact on the national forces' military build-up and combat preparedness," the ministry said. "Major weapons equipment will not continue to be upgraded and it will be difficult to make payments for purchased items according to contracts, resulting in delays or cancelations."
The ministry crafted a budget based on its duty to safeguard the country and its operational needs, Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) said today.
If the proposed budget is not fully funded, Hsu said, it could impact the ministry’s plans to raise salaries for personnel, as well as other necessary projects such as Taiwan’s domestic submarine program.
"How do we persuade international friends to help us in a critical moment if the enemy invades us?" the ministry said.
The budget cuts will have a “clear” impact on Taiwan’s diplomatic initiatives, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said.
A 28-percent reduction for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ budget would be NT$6.5 billion, impacting the ministry’s exchanges with international organizations and friendly countries, including embassy operations, Lin said.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) that the party would “exhaust” all its constitutional options in opposing the new bills and protecting the country, including requesting the Constitutional Court to provide a constitutional interpretation.
Additional reporting by CNA and Reuters
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