Ministers and the heads of the nation’s government offices yesterday reacted to news of the legislature’s historic budget suspensions with condemnations and complaints, saying that the cuts would hurt policies, personnel and disadvantaged Taiwanese.
Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) told a news conference that the Coast Guard Administration might not be able to pay shipbuilders after lawmakers suspended large swathes of the council’s budget.
The Legislative Yuan’s budget slashed NT$1.07 billion (US$32.65 million) from the council’s budget and suspended another NT$1.24 billion, the steepest decrease of its budget in OAC history, she said.
Photo: CNA
“We cannot put this on tab,” she added.
The Coast Guard Administration serves a vital national security role that requires significant amounts of funding for ship maintenance, repair and construction to keep up with China, Kuan said.
“We were already falling behind our adversary even if proposed budget increases had been approved, and now we for sure would not be able to stop them,” she said.
Writing in a social media post, the Ministry of Labor said the legislature’s cuts to its budget would cause a litany of woes, including difficulty paying civil servants and maintaining the government’s basic functions.
The legislature deleted or suspended NT$28 million for small and medium-sized enterprises to pay for child care leave, NT$157.8 million to pay 400 ministry employees, and NT$10.6 million for utilities, as well as the building and maintenance of digital systems.
Legislators additionally froze 60 percent of the ministry’s budget that was earmarked to inform the public about workers’ economic relief loans, labor insurance, unemployment benefits, childbirth subsidies and industrial safety, it said.
Separately, the Presidential Office distributed a letter to employees apologizing for not handing out traditional Lunar New Year gifts and bonuses due to the legislature’s budget cuts.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) was cited by Central News Agency as saying in the document that President William Lai (賴清德) regretted not being able to pay civil servants bonuses for their hard work.
The legislature slashed or suspended more than NT$200 million from the office’s budget, or about 70 percent of the allocation the government had proposed.
These included the discretionary funds earmarked for gifts and cash bonuses to government personnel and underprivileged children for the Lunar New Year holidays, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, Peng said.
A Presidential Office employee speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed that presidents typically pay workers Lunar New Year holiday bonuses at the beginning of the year.
Presidential Office workers felt aggrieved despite expecting that the opposition parties’ budget bill might mean the loss of their bonuses, the employee added.
Every president from Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to Lai has made use of the discretionary budget to buy products from charities, sources said.
The Taipei Autism Children Welfare Foundation, the Garden of Hope Foundation and the Eden Social Welfare Foundation were among the charities that received contracts for furnishing gifts last year, they said.
The president’s gift list recipients include the civil servants assigned to the Presidential Office, the military police’s 211th battalion, the Taipei City Police Department’s 1st and 2nd Zhongshan Precincts, 242 elementary schools in indigenous-majority communities and 400 shelters for people with disabilities, they said.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS