The Executive Yuan yesterday said it would instruct government agencies to begin allocating NT$71.8 billion (US$2.28 billion) for certain budgetary items prioritized by opposition lawmakers as soon as the general budget is formally referred to legislative committees next week.
Cross-caucus negotiations at the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday agreed to send this year’s general budget to committees for review on Tuesday next week, while urging the Executive Yuan to fund 38 new projects under the general budget championed by opposition parties.
The Legislative Yuan on March 6 approved the early release of funds for the projects on their second reading, citing their “urgency and significant impact on public livelihood.”
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
The projects include subsidies to address the nation’s low birthrate, funding for the TPass program, and flood control and water management initiatives.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics submitted the official document for budget utilization to Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) in the middle of last month.
Asked when Cho would approve the document, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) yesterday said that the legislature has confirmed it would approve the budget for new projects in full without freezing it during the review of this year’s general budget.
The Executive Yuan welcomes and accepts the resolution, as it would help many policies roll out on schedule and allow civil servants to execute their duties with peace of mind, Lee quoted Cho as saying.
After the general budget is formally sent to a committee, the Cabinet would instruct all agencies to initiate budget execution procedures, Cho said.
The legislature on Wednesday officially launched the cross-caucus negotiation mechanism, allowing the central government’s general budget, which had been delayed for 230 days, to smoothly complete the committee referral process in the coming days, he said.
The premier also expressed hope that ruling and opposition parties would continue negotiations to yield positive results regarding the special defense budget.
The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday approved the agenda and the timetable for negotiations on the general budget.
Cabinet officials are to appear before the legislature on Tuesday next week for inquiries on the general budget, followed by reviews by various committees.
A cross-committee review of the administrative budget would be conducted from Wednesday to May 14, according to the schedule.
Committees are expected to submit their review reports to the Finance Committee for consolidation before May 18.
The committee would convene on May 21 to discuss the reports and submit the proposal to the plenary session.
Additional reporting by CNA
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS