The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is requesting to cut 3.47 percent, or NT$111.1 billion (US$3.37 billion), from this year’s central government budget, KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) said today.
The budget for next year is under review in the Legislative Yuan.
The Executive Yuan submitted a finalized budget proposal and sent it to the legislature for review in August last year, which forecast annual revenue of NT$3.15 trillion and expenses of NT$3.13 trillion, for a surplus of NT$20.9 billion.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The forecasted revenue and expenses are not only an all-time high, but much of the budget is inflated, Fu told a news conference attended by all KMT legislators in front of the Legislative Yuan.
The KMT's proposal is in line with budget cuts of previous years and is not excessive, he added.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) earlier told lawmakers that NT$200 million is needed in this year’s defense budget for submarines, which are critical to national defense efforts.
Fu said that the KMT proposal would support the national defense budget, but freeze any inflated portions, meaning they would be placed under close review, but not entirely cut.
In response to suggested cuts to Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) requested supplementary budget of NT$100 billion, Fu said that each year, Taipower subsidies come from the pockets of hardworking taxpayers in a flawed policy to cover up corruption within factions of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The KMT would not agree to the DPP continuing to take money from the public, he said, calling on the ruling party to instead adjust its energy policies to stop corruption.
Promotional budgets and operational costs of all governmental departments must also be carefully reviewed to prevent misuse of funds to hire Internet trolls, he added.
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
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