Legislative Yuan to Hear Premier Cho's Military Procurement Report on the 19th; Special Defense Budget Expected for Committee Review on the 20th

Central News Agency (CNA reporter Wang Cheng-chung, Taipei, May 17) — The Legislative Yuan will invite Premier Cho Jung-tai on the afternoon of the 19th to present a special report on matters related to the preparation of the special budget for the first batch of Letters of Offer and Acceptance for the 'Plan to Safeguard National Security and Strengthen Asymmetric Combat Capabilities'. If approved by the Legislative Yuan, the Executive Yuan will be asked to send the special budget bill to the Legislative Yuan by noon on the 20th. In the afternoon, the Premier will be invited again to report on the compilation process and take questions, after which the bill will be sent for review. On the 8th, the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the 'Special Act for Procurement under the Plan to Safeguard National Security and Strengthen Asymmetric Combat Capabilities,' stipulating a budget ceiling of NT$300 billion for the first batch of military procurement LOAs and NT$480 billion for the second batch. The Executive Yuan is required to submit a relevant special report within one month of the act's passage, and can only prepare the budget bill after receiving legislative approval, which must be sent to the Legislative Yuan for review within two months. The first installment payment of about NT$800 million for the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system is due on May 31. The Ministry of National Defense reported at the Executive Yuan meeting on the 14th on 'Unapproved Items in the Special Defense Budget and Their Impact,' stating that its position remains to complete the payment by the end of the month. It will report to the Legislative Yuan as soon as possible, after which the Ministry will prepare the budget bill to be submitted to the Executive Yuan for review before being sent to the committee. Finally, it will apply to use the first installment under Article 84 of the Budget Act. The ruling and opposition party caucuses reached a consensus through negotiation on the 15th. According to the negotiation conclusion, the caucuses agreed to invite the Premier and relevant department heads on the afternoon of the 19th for a special report and questioning session. The KMT and DPP caucuses will each send three representatives, and the TPP caucus will send one. The conclusion states that if the Legislative Yuan agrees to the Executive Yuan's preparation of the special budget for the first batch of LOAs, an additional session will be held on the afternoon of the 20th, requesting the Executive Yuan to send the special budget bill to the Legislative Yuan by noon on the 20th. The conclusion also said the caucuses agree to add the special budget bill to the agenda for the report session and to invite the Premier, the head of the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of National Defense, and other relevant department heads at 2:30 PM on the 20th to report on the budget's compilation and take questions. The KMT and DPP caucuses will each send five representatives, and the TPP caucus will send two. After the Q&A, the bill will be sent for review, and the caucuses have agreed not to file for reconsideration. (Editor: Lin Keren) 1150517