A final review of draft amendments to the Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例) was yesterday delayed after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus withdrew from cross-caucus negotiations in protest of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus “twisting” its bailout proposals.
The Legislative Yuan yesterday morning held a second round of cross-caucus talks, and the DPP had scheduled for the amendments — which last week proceeded to second reading — to be reviewed during an afternoon plenary session.
The proposed amendments, if passed, would serve as the legal basis for the Executive Yuan’s proposal to raise the ceiling of the special budget for COVID-19 prevention, relief and recovery to NT$210 billion (US$6.98 billion).
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
As soon as the meeting began, KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) presented a chart posted online by the DPP caucus, which contains wording that criticizes the KMT for pushing for the “indiscriminate” issuing of cash handouts to help people through the pandemic, without proposing any provisions for excluding high-income earners.
The KMT caucus was clear that the sizes of the proposed cash handouts should be inversely proportional to the amount of tax each household pays, but the DPP caucus deliberately twisted the KMT’s proposal, Chiang said, adding that it would refuse to proceed with the negotiations unless the DPP caucus retracted the chart and apologized.
The KMT caucus has proposed budgeting NT$100 billion for cash handouts, KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said.
According to the proposal, households that are exempt from paying income tax would receive NT$20,000. Households subject to the 5 percent tax rate would receive NT$15,000; those subject to the 12 percent tax rate would receive NT$10,000; and those subject to the 20 percent tax rate would receive NT$6,000. Households subject to a rate of 30 percent or higher would not be eligible for a handout.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that the logic behind the KMT’s proposal was “fundamentally flawed” because the tax rates were calculated based on last year’s incomes, and some people have only become jobless this year due to the pandemic.
In comparison, the Executive Yuan’s proposals target employers and workers who are hardest hit by the pandemic and are in most urgent need of relief, Ker said.
The KMT caucus held a news conference at which it unveiled its proposal while negotiations were ongoing on Monday, but the DPP had not been informed of them, he added.
The two caucuses then engaged in a heated exchange, prompting Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) to announce a break. Members of the KMT caucus later withdrew from the meeting.
The KMT’s withdrawal was tantamount to reneging on its agreement to forfeit the one-month period during which a caucus may freeze a bill, Ker said.
He said that he would ask Yu to call another round of negotiations tomorrow to hopefully pass the amendments on Friday.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS