Legislature loses ‘friendship’ travel funds
FAIR? That the budget cuts affected the Legislative Yuan shows that they aimed to rein in government spending and were not targeted at the Executive Yuan, a legislator said
By Chen Cheng-yu and Lo Kuo-chia / Staff reporters
The legislature has suspended funding for overseas visits by lawmakers’ friendship groups after travel budget cuts, prompting mixed responses from the three major parties.
The central government’s budget for this fiscal year was delayed for 351 days before the Legislative Yuan finally passed it on Friday last week.
As part of across-the-board cuts, the budgets for overseas travel and training at central government agencies and their affiliated bodies were cut by 30 percent, with exceptions for legally mandated spending, Academia Sinica and the National Audit Office. Some agencies were subject to cuts ranging from 10 percent to 70 percent.
Lawmakers attend a session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Friday last week.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
In a letter sent to lawmakers, Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Chou Wan-lai (周萬來) said that after the cuts, the legislature’s overseas travel budget was insufficient to subsidize lawmakers’ visits organized by foreign parliamentary friendship groups, once existing expenditures and earmarked funds were taken into account.
Under Article 15 of the regulations governing parliamentary friendship groups with foreign legislators and other organizations, subsidies must be covered by the legislature’s budget.
The Legislative Yuan has stopped accepting applications for funding for overseas visits by parliamentary friendship groups, effective immediately.
“I think the legislature has only itself to blame,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus secretary-general Fan Yun (范雲) said yesterday, adding that the cuts ended up affecting the Legislative Yuan itself, leaving lawmakers without subsidies and forcing them to pay out of pocket for overseas parliamentary diplomacy.
DPP Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵), who also chairs the Taiwan-France Parliamentary Friendship Association and other friendship groups, said that there were 114 parliamentary friendship groups as of the end of June, 78 of which are cross-national groups focused on parliamentary diplomacy.
At a time when Taiwan is facing pressure from China, parliamentary exchanges with other democratic legislatures are an important way for the nation to engage internationally, she added.
The subsidy for overseas visits by parliamentary friendship groups is about NT$60,000 per person, Lin said.
While that amount may cover trips to some Asian countries, an economy-class ticket to Europe could cost more than NT$60,000, she said, adding that there are also accommodation expenses.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) said the cuts apply to the Legislative Yuan, which shows that they were intended to rein in government spending, rather than targeting the Executive Yuan.
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus whip Jacky Chen (陳清龍) said cuts have been made at a certain rate in previous years, adding that the 30 percent cut to overseas travel expenses was the version the three parties agreed upon during negotiations.
As DPP caucus whip Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) signed off on the agreement, all government agencies would be able to adjust accordingly, Chen said.
TPP Legislator Hung Yu-hsiang (洪毓祥) said parliamentary diplomacy is necessary, and lawmakers should continue traveling overseas to seek international support and deepen ties with democratic partners.
However, the importance of parliamentary diplomacy does not mean every expense should be given unlimited leeway, he added.
Hung criticized some government officials for taking aimless overseas trips and submitting poorly written reports, only to invoke national security confidentiality as a cover when their conduct was exposed.
Such misuse of travel funds was the main reason for the cuts, he said, adding that the legislature’s parliamentary diplomacy budget was simply collateral damage.
Hung blamed ruling party officials for misusing public funds, saying that they dragged down the budgets of the legislature and government agencies.
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