The government should first address problems caused by the unequal distribution of public revenue among local governments before pushing for an amendment to the Local Government Act (地方制度法), the New Power Party (NPP) caucus said yesterday.
The amendment, which was proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus on Friday, would facilitate the merger of Hsinchu city and county, making Hsinchu the nation’s seventh special municipality.
The six special municipalities are Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
Photo courtesy of the NPP
The bill could be reviewed by lawmakers as early as this week, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told reporters on Monday.
The NPP caucus said that it opposed the bill as it only served the purpose of upgrading Hsinchu into a special municipality.
The government should prioritize addressing the unequal distribution of public revenue between special municipalities and non-special municipalities, and set the boundaries of administrative regions in a fair and just manner, it said.
The amendment was proposed out of political considerations and would only “divide Taiwan into two worlds,” it added.
Special municipalities receive 61.76 percent of tax revenues from the central government, while non-special municipalities receive 24 percent, NPP caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said, citing the Regulations for the Allocation of Centrally Funded Tax Revenues (中央統籌分配稅款分配辦法).
As a result, many cities and counties are seeking to upgrade their status to gain access to more central government resources, he said.
“Unfair distribution of government resources will only get worse with the proposed amendment to the Local Government Act, which would increase the number of special municipalities, but cause some townships to disappear,” Chiu said.
While the DPP should have a “rational discussion” about the merger with Hsinchu city and county residents, it continues to ignore the funding gap between cities and counties, and looks to the merger for a boost in the local elections next year, NPP Legislator Claire Wang (王琬諭) said.
Changhua City is reportedly looking to merge with Changhua County, while Yunlin County is reportedly looking to merge with Chiayi city and county.
“If these mergers happen, the nation would have nine special municipalities, leaving only six local governments that have not been upgraded: Keelung City, Miaoli County, Pingtung County, Yilan County, Hualien County and Taitung County,” Wang said.
“They would be like orphans in terms of funding,” she added.
Citing a survey conducted by the party in October, NPP deputy caucus whip Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said that 52 percent of respondents opposed any merger before the local elections, while more than 25 percent of respondents said the government should reset the boundaries of administrative regions nationwide.
Miaoli County Council Speaker Sung Kuo-ding (宋國鼎) said that a report published by the Hsinchu Science Park Administration Bureau showed that Jhunan (竹南) and Tongluo (銅鑼) townships in Miaoli County are home to 80 technology companies, about one-fifth of those based in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區).
The two townships have nearly 16,000 high-tech workers, he said.
“The government apparently did not think through whether merging Hsinchu city and county will contribute to the further development of the Hsinchu Science Park,” Sung said.
The act states that regions with a population of not less than 1.25 million, and special requirements in their political, economic, cultural and metropolitan development, may establish a special municipality.
The DPP’s proposed amendment only changed “and” to “or” to dismiss criticism that the amendment was tailored for upgrading Hsinchu into a special municipality.
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