Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the KMT, says the government is being wasteful with its COVID-19 relief spending. KMT lawmakers raised the issue at a press conference on Monday morning.
The legislature is set to begin discussions in the coming days over a proposed fifth economic stimulus bill designed to offset the negative effects of COVID-19.
At Monday’s press conference, senior KMT lawmaker Fai Hrong-tai said that current proposals are opaque. He says the government’s plans set aside money for each government ministry, but fails to specify how those ministries would use their allocated budget.
Fai says that the stimulus budget planning bypasses proper procedure, and that the government should completely redraft the bill.
The ruling DPP also held a press conference on Monday attended by senior lawmaker Liu Shyh-fang. Liu says that the party carefully reviews and oversees every aspect of budget allocation. She says that the DPP would never allow wasteful spending.
Liu is calling on the KMT to carefully review the government’s proposals. She says that all items listed in the budget are necessary.