The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), using their combined legislative majority, for the fourth time yesterday declined to schedule the government’s proposed special defense budget bill for discussion.
President William Lai (賴清德) last month announced the NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.67 billion) supplementary budget to underscore the nation’s determination to defend itself.
The Executive Yuan on Nov. 27 passed a draft act for the budget to fund major weapons purchases from next year to 2033.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
During a meeting of the Procedure Committee yesterday, nine members voted in favor of scheduling the budget bill discussion and nine voted against.
KMT Legislator Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), who chairs the committee, was the tiebreaking vote.
The KMT claims it wants to boost national defense, but in practice is unwilling to even allow the bill onto the agenda, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Yi-chuan (王義川) said, calling the block “laughable.”
KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) accused Lai of stalling the process, as he proposed the special budget, but has not presented it to the legislature or answered lawmakers’ questions.
The KMT and the TPP are deliberately disregarding basic legislative procedures, DPP spokeswoman Han Ying (韓瑩) said in a statement.
Han accused the KMT of “taking orders from the Chinese government,” citing Weng on Monday as saying that she had contacted officials from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office during a trip to China and openly declared that she would block the special defense budget bill.
The KMT has refused to acknowledge public support for bolstering national defense and turned its back on Taiwanese, she said.
According to legislative procedures, bills and budget proposals must pass the Procedure Committee and be referred to committee before they can be explained and substantively debated, Han said.
However, the opposition “is not even allowing the bill to enter discussion,” she said. “This is opposition for the sake of opposition, with no sincerity whatsoever.”
The public does not support spending additional funds on weapons, Weng said.
The proposed defense spending is in excess of NT$1 trillion, she said, adding that it would be an unbearable burden on the nation’s finances.
Apart from the defense budget bill, several other amendments were withheld from the agenda for plenary sessions scheduled from Friday to Tuesday next week.
They include DPP proposals to amend the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) and the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (港澳關係條例) to regulate legislators’ trips to China, as well as the Cabinet’s proposed partial amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法).
Separately, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) on social media yesterday wrote that AIT Deputy Director Karin Lang (梁凱雯) met with KMT vice chairs Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍) and Chang Rong-kung (張榮恭).
During the meeting, Lang “reaffirmed the United States’ support for Taiwan’s enhanced defense capabilities, and the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the post said.
Lee and Chang also “highlighted the value of dialogue” in addressing the challenges, it said.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
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