The Control Yuan today said it has been “left with no choice” but to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality of the central government budget, after its operating expenses were slashed by 96 percent.
The Legislative Yuan in January cut the central government budget for this year, severely impacting the Control Yuan’s ability to exercise its constitutional duties and continue fundamental operations.
Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞), Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) and various department directors today held a news conference on the matter.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The Control Yuan has “no way to move forward” amid the cuts and would file for a constitutional interpretation and a provisional injunction from the Constitutional Court once the president promulgates the budget, they said.
The Control Yuan has repeatedly issued news releases and convened news conferences to highlight the impact the cuts would have on operations, including property declarations, political donations, conflicts of interest, accepting public petitions, investigations, inspections and impeachments, they said.
The National Human Rights Commission has all but stopped operations, and although it had secured the right to host the annual conference of the International Ombudsman Institute this year, the event may be canceled due to insufficient funding, potentially damaging Taiwan’s credibility in the international community, they added.
Disputes over the budget are not merely a cross-partisan conflict, but a constitutional crisis, Lee Hung-chun said.
Directors of departments across the Control Yuan have been paying their own fuel expenses for government vehicles, Lee Chun-yi said.
Moreover, the Control Yuan has been unable to pay the last two months’ water, electricity and telecommunication bills, with Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) having requested a repayment plan, he added.
Were it not for agreements with Taipower and Chunghwa Telecom Co, the Control Yuan would have already had its water and electricity shut off, he said.
Regarding the health of Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), Chen is working hard on her recovery and remains in a stable condition, and she thanks the public for their concern, Lee Hung-chun said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS