《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》President urges smooth passage of bills

LOOKING TO SPEND: The president said that local government projects not in an infrastructure plan’s special budget could win funding from the annual budget

By Yang Chun-hui / Staff reporter

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President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） yesterday asked the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） caucus to ensure the passage of draft bills on pension reform and infrastructure development in an upcoming extraordinary legislative session.

Tsai invited 16 DPP lawmakers, Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao （林錫耀） and Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Jason Liu （劉建忻） to a lunch in the Presidential Office Building to discuss smoothing the passage of the bills through legislative work and policy promotion.

Tsai said the public has misconceptions about the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program because of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s （KMT） false accusations against it, and asked the lawmakers to redouble efforts to promote it.

The planned projects are necessary to improve public transportation and rural development, the Presidential Office said.

Lawmakers should defend projects in their constituencies, Tsai said, adding that Taoyuan lawmakers, for example, should speak out in support of rail projects proposed for the city.

The president asked lawmakers to communicate with voters in their constituencies to defend the project to avoid misconceptions, said DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming （柯建銘）, who attended the meeting.

Lawmakers were asked to communicate with the Cabinet about the details of the project, Ker said.

Tsai also talked of the importance of river remediation following the floods that have wreaked havoc across the nation, and asked the lawmakers to brief her about damage in their constituencies, Ker said.

Local governments should propose river remediation plans and budget requests, even if they are not included in the infrastructure project, Tsai said.

Tsai said projects not in the plan’s special budget are still important, and they could win funding from the annual budget, said DPP Legislator Chuang Ruei-hsiung （莊瑞雄）, who attended the meeting.

Tsai has repeatedly asked government agencies and DPP lawmakers to defend the infrastructure plan, including asking ministers and deputy ministers last week to make local visits and explain details of the project to residents.

Pension reform bills are the other priority to be handled in the extraordinary session.

“We only have this opportunity to reform the pension system. Failure to pass [the draft bills] is unacceptable,” Ker said.

Additional reporting by Chen Wei-han

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES