The Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program draft bill review should be held again, the legislature’s Economics Committee convenor said yesterday, adding that there were flaws in her chairing of Wednesday’s review, which passed the bill amid chaos.
The convenor, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), said she would reschedule the review for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday next week to allow for detailed, clause-by-clause deliberation.
“I am willing to take responsibility and rearrange the review. Can lawmakers of the opposition party give up hatred, restart conversations, keep their promise to not disrupt the procedure and make efforts to improve the nation’s infrastructure?” Chiu asked, calling on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) not to boycott the draft bill.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
She said the DPP did not boycott a four-year NT$500 billion (US$16.6 billion) economic stimulus project proposed by then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in 2008, which allowed the project to be approved within a month.
KMT caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said the new review is “acceptable, as it is precisely our call,” but demanded a formal decision be announced by the legislative speaker or by a cross-caucus meeting, rather than on Facebook.
The New Power Party caucus yesterday morning had already asked Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) to call a cross-caucus negotiation meeting and restart substantive review, and later said it “welcomes” the DPP caucus’ decision.
Su said Chiu’s proposal is “highly commendable” and he expects there would be no boycott or physical altercations during the new review.
Premier Lin Chuan (林全) sought to assuage concerns and drum up support for the infrastructure plan, calling on all parties to put aside preconceived ideas and treat the program in a practical and reasonable manner.
No part of the plan is to be implemented until environmental impact assessments have been carried out, Lin said in response to concerns expressed by environmental groups over some of the proposed transportation projects.
There would also be no major relocation of people or land requisitions, he added.
He made the comments when speaking at a weekly Cabinet meeting, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Lin addressed these criticisms a day after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the Cabinet was not doing enough to help the public understand the plan.
Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday pushed and shoved each other during a joint committee session before the bill passed its preliminary review.
The statute would allow the Cabinet to spend NT$882.49 billion over eight years to build infrastructure projects across the nation, including new light railways and several rail extension or improvement projects.
There will be no question of leaving future generations in debt as a result of the plan, Lin said.
When announcing the plan last month, Lin said that government spending is expected to lead to NT$1.77 trillion in private-sector investment and add 0.7 percent to the nation’s GDP growth each year over the eight-year period.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated