A majority of the justices on the Constitutional Court have voted to accept the Control Yuan’s petition for a constitutional judgement on this year’s central government budget, the Judicial Yuan said today.
The Control Yuan said its total allocated budget was NT$1.09 billion (US$36.56 million), of which more than NT$800 million was for personnel expenses, but its budget for operation expenses was reduced from NT$240 million to NT$10 million, a 96-percent cut.
The Control Yuan filed the petition after it was forced to adjust or suspend several of its functions.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The budget was promulgated by the president on March 21, after opposition lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rejected two reconsideration proposals from the Executive Yuan.
The 96-percent cut to the Control Yuan’s operational expenses go beyond what is reasonable and “severely endanger” its ability to carry out its duties, the Control Yuan said.
The budget cuts functionally abolish the Control Yuan and undermine the principle of separation of powers, it said.
Yang Chang-hsien (楊昌憲), director of the Control Yuan's Department of Supervisory Investigation, filed a petition for a constitutional interpretation on March 24, asking the court to review the Legislative Yuan’s actions and invalidate the cuts retroactively to Jan. 1 of this year.
Per Article 32 of the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法), the court accepted the petition, the Judicial Yuan said today.
In other news, the Executive Yuan’s decision to reduce subsidies for local governments by 25 percent, NT$63.6 billion, continues to be debated.
Local government support for the Executive Yuan’s NT$63.6-billion supplementary budget could be a solution, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said today.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Cho as saying that the Legislative Yuan’s NT$207.6-billion budget cut directly impacts people and forced the Executive Yuan to adjust its expenditures.
KMT New Taipei City caucus secretary-general Wang Wei-yuan (王威元) and deputy secretary Huang Hsin-hua (黃心華) held a news conference today to protest the Executive Yuan’s decision, calling on the government to not use vulnerable groups as political bargaining chips.
They cited Article 30 of the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法), which says that the amount provided to local governments shall not be less than the budgeted amount from the year before.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) today said he would formally submit a request for the government to reconsider the decision as the subsidies have already been approved for use for social welfare initiatives.
Additional reporting by Huang Tzu-yang
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
RSS