Don't confuse Cabinet's budget-cut roadshow with recall campaigning: DPP

Taipei, March 13 (CNA) The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said Thursday that an islandwide roadshow Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌)featuring Cabinet members addressing opposition-imposed budget cuts should not be confused with campaigning to recall opposition lawmakers.

At a news conference in Taipei announcing the DPP roadshow, which starts Saturday, DPP Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) insisted the tour was not to push the recall campaigns that emerged swiftly over the past few weeks with the aim of ousting main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers eligible for recall provisions.

"[I] urged the public to not confuse the two events," Lin said, noting that the planned tour and the recall campaigns, which are already in full swing, were "not directly related."

The DPP is building "a large platform for society" and "[it] welcomes everyone to come and listen to speeches," Lin said.

However, Lin said if there were "some democratic booths looking to take part," they "will make up part of this platform," implicitly referencing booths set up by civil society groups to gather signatures from recall endorsers.

While Lin sought laboriously to draw a demarcation between the party's initiative and the recall movement, DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told reporters on Wednesday that the two events were "complementary."

Lin said President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who concurrently serves as the DPP chairman, would not appear in any of those speaking events.

According to the DPP's plans, the tour will begin in Taichung on Saturday. Over the next two weeks, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and his Cabinet officials will "directly report to the public about what impact the freezes and cuts to the government's budget have on them."

Commenting on the matter, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a separate news conference that the premier would be "an invitee" to the DPP's events and that no government funds would be used as a result of his involvement in the tour.

The government maintains that the cuts and freezes ordered by the opposition-controlled Legislature to the central government's general budget plan for the fiscal year 2025 have affected the normal operations of targeted government agencies.

The Legislature has cut approximately NT$207.6 billion (US$6.3 billion) in funding and frozen an additional NT$183.1 billion from the budget, for which the Executive Yuan had originally proposed NT$3.1 trillion in expenditures.

Shortly after the DPP's announcement, the main opposition KMT said it was also planning to launch its own speaking events in April to highlight the party's efforts in promoting various measures benefiting the livelihood and welfare of the public.

The planned events will also focus on reporting to the public the incompetence of the DPP government, KMT spokesperson Crystal Yang (楊智伃) told reporters on Thursday.