Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday said that the proposed NT$10 billion (US$326.1 million) increase in the ministry’s budget for next year is necessary to counter China’s growing aggression.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proposed a budget of NT$41.5 billion for next fiscal year, which has been sent to the legislature, seeking approval for a significant hike from this year’s NT$30.6 billion budget.
In a report to lawmakers, Lin said the proposed NT$10.9 billion increase is necessary to deal with China’s increasing aggression against Taiwan on the global stage.
Photo: CNA
Over the past 25 years, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has increased its budget 11 times, using the funds to lure Taiwan’s diplomatic allies away and isolate the nation, Lin said in his report to the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
“If our diplomatic resources are not given a major boost, it would be extremely difficult for us to compete with China’s strong offense and tremendous resources,” he said.
Lin was responding to questions by lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party about the reasons for the significant hike in his ministry’s proposed budget.
The proposal for the next fiscal year is 1.37 percent of the government’s projected total expenditure for that year, compared with 1.05 percent of the total this year, an official source said on condition of anonymity.
However, that amount is miniscule compared with China’s foreign affairs budget of 64.5 billion yuan (US$9.05 billion), which has jumped from 5.7 billion yuan 25 years ago, the source added.
Lin said that over the past few months, he visited nine countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Those democratic countries, including Japan and the Philippines, welcomed his visit despite China’s protests, he said.
Lin also applauded the Czech Republic for standing up to pressure from China last month, when he was invited to speak at the Warsaw Security Forum.
China tried to force Prague to withdraw his invitation, because Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) was also scheduled to visit the Czech Republic at about the same time, Lin said.
While Taiwan’s exchanges with non-allied countries might be limited, there is plenty of room for parliamentary, think tank, technological and cultural exchanges, he added.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS