The Cabinet yesterday called for rational debate over budget reviews at the Legislative Yuan after opposition lawmakers proposed cutting the central government’s budget for this fiscal year by NT$206.1 billion (US$6.25 billion).
The budget proposed last year by the Executive Yuan forecast revenue of NT$3.15 trillion and NT$3.13 trillion of annual expenses, an anticipated surplus of NT$20.9 billion.
Lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday said that they would propose significant budget cuts and freezes during cross-party negotiations today.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) has asked ministries and other government agencies to explain their budget allotments and, within reason, defend them, a source at the Executive Yuan said.
Asked about reports that the KMT caucus is planning to slash every ministry’s funding for public relations and media promotion, KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Ssu-ming (林思銘) said that the party would scrutinize the allotments and make cuts where spending is deemed unnecessary.
KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said that the party would propose freezing NT$1.8 million of funding for the indigenous submarine project until a prototype has completed sea trials, adding that the Ministry of National Defense had told a legislative committee meeting that it would only require NT$200 million for the submarine project this year.
Separately, the TPP said it plans to reduce the total budget by 10 percent by cutting NT$206.1 billion and freezing NT$97.4 billion.
TPP caucus convener Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said it plans to halve the Control Yuan’s proposed budget of NT$42.4 million and freeze the rest.
The TPP is seeking to slash NT$40 million and freeze 20 percent of the NT$300 million for civil defense ground maintenance fees, as the project’s budget write-up was terrible, Huang said.
The party is also proposing to halve the Ministry of Labor’s Employment Security Fund, TPP Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) said, citing “blatant misappropriation.”
The Ministry of Finance’s policies have not been carefully assessed, resulting in rising real-estate prices instead of combating speculation, the TPP said, adding that it would propose a NT$70 million cut to the finance ministry’s budget and a freeze on NT$30 million.
The TPP is also looking to slash all Ministry of Economic Affairs subsidies to Taiwan Power Co, TPP Legislator Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said that the TPP’s proposed cuts and freezes would affect one-10th of the government’s budget, severely hampering its ability to govern.
The KMT’s and the TPP’s planned cuts to national defense were evidence that they are assisting the Chinese Communist Party to weaken the country, Wu said.
The budget should not be influenced by party ideologies and should be approved based on whether it serves the public and the state, she said, adding that the DPP is prepared to defend the budget proposals during cross-caucus negotiations.
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