The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that its roadshow featuring Cabinet members addressing opposition-imposed budget cuts should not be confused with campaigning to recall opposition lawmakers.
At a news conference in Taipei announcing the roadshow, which starts tomorrow, DPP Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said that the tour was not to push the recall campaigns against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, which had emerged swiftly over the past few weeks.
“[I] urge the public to not confuse the two events,” Lin said, adding that the roadshow and the recall campaigns were “not directly related.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The DPP is building “a large platform for society” and “welcomes everyone to come and listen to speeches,” Lin said.
While Lin sought to draw a line between the party’s initiative and the recall movement, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told reporters on Wednesday that the two events were “complementary.”
Lin said President William Lai (賴清德), who also serves as DPP chairman, would not appear in any of the speaking events.
The tour is to begin in Taichung tomorrow.
Over the next two weeks, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said he and Cabinet officials would directly report to the public about how they would be impacted by government budget freezes and cuts.
At a separate news conference, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the premier would be an “invitee” to the DPP’s events and that no government funds would be used in his involvement in the tour.
The government maintains that the budget cuts and freezes ordered by the opposition-controlled legislature have affected the normal operations of government agencies.
The legislature has cut about NT$207.6 billion (US$6.3 billion) in funding and frozen an additional NT$183.1 billion of the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$3.1 trillion budget.
Shortly after the DPP’s announcement, the KMT said it was also planning to launch a speech event next month to highlight the party’s efforts in promoting measures that benefit the livelihood and welfare of the public.
The event would also focus on reporting on the incompetence of the DPP government, KMT spokesperson Crystal Yang (楊智?) told reporters yesterday.
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