Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday boycotted cross-caucus negotiations on the special defense budget, instead submitting a supplementary resolution that demands all US arms sales undergo separate legislative reviews — a move Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators criticized as an attempt to stall vital military funding.
The supplementary resolution stated that it was proposed in response to the US government’s announcement on Dec. 18 last year of a US$11.1 billion military package to Taiwan — the largest it has ever provided.
The resolution, to provide better legislative oversight of US arms sales, proposes that competent authorities draft a special act on strengthening national defense and second-stage procurement from the US, and forward the draft to the Legislative Yuan immediately.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
At least 15 KMT legislators signed the resolution.
The KMT resolution also says that once the draft act has been delivered to the Legislative Yuan, the legislature must convene cross-caucus negotiations to debate whether it should be placed on the roster for debate and to expedite the bill’s third reading.
The proposal would mean that every large-sum military purchase must be debated across multiple stages and discussed item by item, effectively bypassing existing methods for the government to add funding directly.
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that the Executive Yuan’s draft act has been blocked at least 10 times, and the KMT’s original NT$380 billion (US$11.97 billion) version was evidently a ploy to stall the process and propose a new version.
The KMT’s previous proposal capped defense spending at NT$380 billion and would allow special funding to be added later. The KMT proposal was far lower than the Executive Yuan’s proposal of NT$1.25 trillion over eight years.
DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) criticized the resolution, saying that the KMT was withholding funding that the nation and frontline troops desperately need.
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