Cross-party negotiations over the central government’s budget for this year are expected to continue today after lawmakers failed to reach a consensus amid heated debate yesterday.
With more than 3,000 proposals to review, the three days originally scheduled might not be enough for negations, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) said.
If negotiations are not completed by tomorrow, the party caucuses should continue negotiations over the weekend, outside of plenary sessions, Han said.
Photo: CNA
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucuses were on the verge of proposing comprehensive cuts that would threaten to shut down multiple government ministries, Chinese-language media reported.
Cuts expected to be proposed by the KMT include suspending NT$1.8 billion (US$54.44 million) of the Ministry of National Defense’s NT$2 billion budget for an indigenous defense submarine program.
Other KMT proposals are expected to cut the operating budgets of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Communications Commission (NCC) and the Mainland Affairs Council to NT$1 each, while other ministries would lose 70 percent of their operating budgets.
KMT caucus members called for all ministries to have their funding for public relations and media promotion struck entirely.
The proposals prompted criticism from officials, with several ministries warning that the normal functions of the government could not be maintained at the suggested funding levels.
Major General Hsin Yi-tsung (辛宜聰) from the Ministry of National Defense’s Comptroller Bureau said that a follow-up submarine construction program is a key part of the nation’s naval strategy and symbol of Taiwan’s resolve to defend itself.
The defense ministry urged lawmakers to pass the proposed submarine budget in its entirety to enable the navy to acquire eight boats as the legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee recommended, Hsin said.
Media reports that Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) had agreed to cut the submarine budget following discussions with KMT lawmakers were false, Hsin said, adding that his ministry has made no changes to its policy recommendations.
The navy is completing harbor acceptance tests for a prototype submarine as planned and would never authorize additional vessels to be built without absolute confidence in their safety, Navy Deputy Chief of Staff Rear Admiral He Hung-hsuan (賀紘璿) said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) told reporters on the sidelines of a legislative session that the government needs funding for public relations and media promotion to protect public health.
The government has important health initiatives, including expanded eligibility for free checkups for chronic diseases and cancer screenings, Chiu said.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Digital Affairs said that cutting its operating budget to NT$1 would prevent officials from protecting Taiwan’s cybersecurity against state actors and scammers, or carrying out routine tasks to maintain Internet services.
NCC Secretary-General Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) said that the agency could not perform its regulatory functions or pay for office electricity bills if KMT lawmakers implement budget cuts as reported.
The Ministry of Agriculture in a statement said that the plan of the KMT and the TPP to cut its budget might lead to an unprecedented shutdown of its offices and services.
Such cuts would affect many things, including safety testing, occupational hazard insurance payouts for farmers, agricultural product information systems and benefits for elderly farmers, it said.
About 345,000 farmers are subscribed to the government-run farmers’ insurance system and 520,000 elderly farmers are entitled to benefits, it added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS