The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has prepared close to 4,000 motions to slash or freeze the general budget for next year that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) hopes to pass during the extraordinary session starting next week, KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said yesterday.
The second legislative plenary session started its recess yesterday, with lawmakers scheduled to meet from Wednesday to Jan. 26 for an extraordinary session.
The state-run enterprises’ budget proposal for this year, the review of which had been obstructed by the KMT submitting more than a 1,000 motions for changes since the last legislative plenary session, finally cleared the floor yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
However, the general budget proposals for next year are still in limbo, with Sufin yesterday claiming to have prepared about 4,000 motions to slash and freeze funding.
These motions will surely be put to vote and drag out the meeting, which is what the KMT caucus wants, the convener said, urging the DPP caucus to engage in negotiations.
Other than the budget proposals for state-run enterprises, the legislature also cleared several amendment bills yesterday.
Amendments were made to the Act for the Development of Biotech and New Pharmaceuticals Industry (生技新藥產業發展條例) to relax the definition of applications for “high-risk medical devices” and add “biotech and new pharmaceutical products” as a new category.
The Patent Act (專利法) was amended so that those who apply for an invention patent now are allowed an application period of 12 months after disclosure. The restrictions on how the disclosure are made have been scrapped.
Amendments to the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法) were made to increase penalties for violations of the act. Those charged with illegally disposing of waste resulting in death can be sentenced to seven years to life imprisonment, with the fine also increasing from no more than NT$30 million (US$929,397) to NT$15 million. Fines for waste disposal resulting in serious injuries were also increased from NT$9 million to NT$25 million, in addition to three to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Prison terms for disposing of waste that leads to human endangerment were increased from one year to between five years and seven years, and the fine raised from NT$6 million at NT$20 million.
The amended act also states that waste incinerators in each city and county should prioritize the municipality’s general waste rather than industrial waste.
The amendment bill to the Special Service Act (特種勤務條例) was cleared to provide medical care and nursing care if special service personnel suffers serious injuries resulting in permanent disability while on duty.
The amendment to the Tax Collection Act (稅捐稽徵法) to extend the tax collection period for taxpayers who owe more than NT$10 million in taxes by five years, thereby pushing the deadline to March 4, 2022, also passed its third reading.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
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Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
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