Many overseas missions might have to shut down by June 30, as the Legislative Yuan has frozen 50 percent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ general affairs budget for this year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday
When asked by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Jen (黃仁) why the ministry has yet to submit a proposal to unfreeze the budget in April as it used to do, Lin said the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics has to integrate all proposals to unfreeze the budgets of government agencies before presenting it for negotiation with the legislature.
Moreover, proposals to unfreeze the budgets this year would have to be conducted at full plenary sessions instead of the usual practice of having legislative committees review them, he said.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said that while the KMT caucus did reduce the amount it planned to slash from 70 percent to 50 percent, it also said the ministry cannot propose that the frozen budget be unlocked “until 30 percent of the [approved] budget has been executed.”
Lin asked whether the ministry has implemented more than 30 percent of the budget, to which Lin said “probably not.”
On average, about 30 percent of the annual budget would have been spent by the end of the fourth month of the year at the earliest, he said, adding that it is difficult to accurately execute 30 percent of the budget without taking into consideration the frozen part of the budget.
Moreover, as there is a time limit on the legislative session, many programs would not be able to take off if the budget remains frozen, including many international collaborations, Lin said.
To facilitate the process, he suggested that the legislature return the power to approve proposals to unfreeze budgets to legislative committees.
With 50 percent of the ministry’s general affairs budget frozen, many overseas missions could not pay their utility expenses or contract workers, and might have to shut down by June 30, he said, adding that it would be a huge national loss.
Asked about the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ statement that the budget cuts could affect its stock of passports, Lin confirmed that the bureau would not be able to print more passports by October due to the budget cuts and freezes.
DPP Legislator Chen Chun-yu (陳俊宇) said with NT$120 million (US$3.7 million) cut from the bureau’s budget, its supply of passports would be limited to 1.85 million.
If the number of passport application were to spike this year, its supply would be tight by the end of October, he said.
Bureau Deputy Director Chen Shang-yu (陳尚友) said about 690,000 passports were granted from January to last month, while the total number for the whole year is projected to be 2.09 million, implying a potential shortage of 150,000 to 200,000 passports this year.
Asked whether the safety stock is enough to address the potential shortage, he said the total safety stock is about 400,000 to 500,000 passports and might run out by the end of October.
The bureau would discuss the issue with passport suppliers and might invite tenders earlier this year if need be, he said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS