Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) today proposed to increase funding for compensation to indigenous peoples for a logging ban, as requested by opposition lawmakers, in a bid to break a long standoff over next year’s central government budget plan.
However, Cho, speaking on the legislative floor, stressed that the "concession" would be a one-off "exception."
At the same time, he also hinted that if the deadlock persisted, the Cabinet might bring the issue to the Constitutional Court, despite saying that he was "very much not inclined to do so."
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party lawmakers have demanded that the government include the funding needed to support logging ban compensation as a prerequisite for initiating the review of the proposed budget bill.
Under amendments to the Logging Ban Compensation for Lands Reserved for Indigenous Peoples Act (原住民保留地禁伐補償條例) enacted by the legislature in June, compensation for logging bans on indigenous lands was increased to NT$60,000 (US$1,873) per hectare.
In its original budget plan, the compensation remained at NT$30,000 per hectare, with total spending estimated to be NT$2.1 billion.
Speaking today before the next round of negotiations on the issue on Thursday, Cho said the Cabinet was willing to revise the central government budget plan and raise the compensation to NT$60,000 per hectare if the opposition agreed to not make similar demands in the future.
Earlier today, the Legislative Yuan’s Procedure Committee failed to come to an agreement after meeting to schedule the agenda for Friday and Tuesday next week.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) is to schedule an inter-party meeting for the third time for Thursday in a bid to break the deadlock.
Before the meeting started today, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition reached a consensus to speak calmly and refrain from voting to maintain goodwill for the upcoming cross-party negotiations.
During the meeting, DPP Legislator Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠), who chairs the committee, asked if everyone agreed with not confirming the agenda and leaving the decision to the plenary sitting.
No one in the meeting voiced objection.
For the agenda on Tuesday next week, the DPP and the opposition have agreed to invite Cho and other government department heads to the legislature to report on the government’s policy on energy ratio and electricity rates.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin
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