Opposition lawmakers yesterday fast-tracked a motion to the second reading that would authorize the disbursement of the central government’s NT$71.8 billion (US$2.2 billion) budget for 38 projects, including subsidies to address the low birthrate and funding for the TPass program.
During a plenary session, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their combined majority to bypass committee review and send the motion, which covers 38 budgetary items, directly to the second reading and cross-party negotiations.
Despite objections from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the motion passed 59 to 49, with one abstention from KMT Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝衣?).
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The 38 proposed projects include subsidies to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, funding for the TPass program, and flood control and water management initiatives.
Regarding the birthrate, the subsidies include NT$235 million to cover gaps in government employee birth benefits and NT$2.96 billion for labor insurance birth subsidies.
For the TPass program, the subsidies include NT$1.58 billion for the Executive Yuan’s TPass implementation program and NT$5.94 billion for local governments to implement TPass from this year to 2029.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
As for flood control and water management, the proposal includes subsidies for river and drainage improvement projects to address climate change.
In the proposal, the KMT and the TPP said that amid international uncertainty and rising cross-strait tensions, the Executive Yuan had “maliciously and illegally” failed to budget for pay raises for volunteer military personnel, and higher replacement ratios for police and firefighter pensions.
They accused the Cabinet of failing to present viable alternatives, and of undermining the Constitution and public opinion by spreading misinformation and sowing social division.
The proposal cited a “non-shutdown mechanism” in the budgetary process, arguing that under Article 54 of the Budget Act (預算法), the legislature may adopt a resolution allowing the advance release of urgent and major livelihood-related capital expenditures and new projects included in this year’s general budget.
The opposition hopes the legislature would first approve funding for these projects, TPP caucus deputy whip Chang Chi-kai (張?楷) said.
However, the Executive Yuan should address the root of the issue by fully budgeting for military pay raises and related items to enable substantive review of the overall budget, he added.
The motion mainly targets new local and livelihood-related projects, or specific expenditures within new initiatives, KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said.
It is regrettable that the matter was not handled by the Executive Yuan, as it could have sought legislative approval to release funds for these initiatives, he said.
This year’s general budget has not even been submitted for review, DPP caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said, questioning how the opposition could selectively deem NT$71.8 billion in projects especially urgent without full review.
The Legislative Yuan usually refers the central government budget to committees for item-by-item scrutiny before second and third readings in plenary, he said.
By utilizing a “resolution” format to authorize specific expenditures, the opposition is attempting to circumvent the standard review process, he added.
Taiwanese can file complaints with the Tourism Administration to report travel agencies if their activities caused termination of a person’s citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday, after a podcaster highlighted a case in which a person’s citizenship was canceled for receiving a single-use Chinese passport to enter Russia. The council is aware of incidents in which people who signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of Russia were told they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, Chiu told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taipei. However, the travel agencies actually applied
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger today issued a public apology and said it has suspended an employee amid allegations that the staff member discriminated against a Vietnamese customer at its Taipei 101 store. Posting on the social media platform Threads yesterday, a user said that an employee at the store said that “those shoes are very expensive” when her friend, who is a migrant worker from Vietnam, asked for assistance. The employee then ignored her until she asked again, to which she replied: "We don't have a size 37." The post had amassed nearly 26,000 likes and 916 comments as of this
New measures aimed at making Taiwan more attractive to foreign professionals came into effect this month, the National Development Council said yesterday. Among the changes, international students at Taiwanese universities would be able to work in Taiwan without a work permit in the two years after they graduate, explainer materials provided by the council said. In addition, foreign nationals who graduated from one of the world’s top 200 universities within the past five years can also apply for a two-year open work permit. Previously, those graduates would have needed to apply for a work permit using point-based criteria or have a Taiwanese company
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two Taiwanese and issued a wanted notice for Pete Liu (劉作虎), founder of Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus Technology Co (萬普拉斯科技), for allegedly contravening 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) by poaching 70 engineers in Taiwan. Liu allegedly traveled to Taiwan at the end of 2014 and met with a Taiwanese man surnamed Lin (林) to discuss establishing a mobile software research and development (R&D) team in Taiwan, prosecutors said. Without approval from the government, Lin, following Liu’s instructions, recruited more than 70 software
RSS