DPP, KMT vie for support in separate 'policy briefings'

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) held separate "policy briefings" on Saturday to address the current state of politics and present their cases to the public.

The DPP's third briefing was held in Hualien County, where Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) urged the public to "remove the barrier hindering Hualien's progress and Taiwan's democracy."

He was referring to efforts to recall KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), whose constituency is in the county.

He said the Legislature has repeatedly proposed "unconstitutional" or "illegal" bills, which impact everybody.

The opposition parties, the KMT and Taiwan People's Party (TPP), hold a majority in the Legislature.

Cho criticized the revised budget upheld by the Legislature earlier this month, accusing the opposition of making "revengeful cuts" to the annual budget, including reducing expenses for specific government departments.

He said the main goal of the cuts is to fuel public insecurity, resentment toward the government, distrust in society and blame directed at the central government.

Cho also criticized the revisions to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures, saying the amendments would give local governments more money to spend without holding them accountable for the subsequent responsibilities.

He added that the revisions will impact subsidies for energy-efficient appliances, support for small and medium enterprises and water management programs.

Meanwhile, the KMT held a briefing in Miaoli County, where party chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) called for the local audience to support KMT lawmaker Chiu Cheng-chun (邱鎮軍) and Chen Chao-ming (陳超明), an independent usually ideologically aligned with the KMT.

The two are lawmakers in Miaoli County who face being recalled.

Chu said that Chen and Chiu fought for revisions to the government expenditure allocation act to secure more funding for the county, and that they carefully reviewed the annual budgets to prevent the waste of tax revenue.

Chiu said that the recall actions were aimed at making the KMT unable to focus on being an effective opposition.

Chen labeled the battle against the recalls "a fight for Taiwan's democracy."

In response to press questions, Miaoli County Magistrate Chung Tung-chin (鍾東錦) said that the revisions to the government expenditure allocation act were the only solution to Miaoli's financial crisis.

He added that the central government had halted almost all subsidies to local governments. While the county can cover some of the expenses, issues like unsafe bridges raise serious safety concerns, and he said he hopes for cooperation from the central government as soon as possible.