Watchdog slams Taiwan legislature for budget hypocrisy

Taiwan's Legislative Yuan is facing sharp criticism from the Civic Supervision Alliance for its handling of the central government's budget. The watchdog group accused lawmakers of delaying the national budget for over 300 days while readily approving their own institution's spending.

"The blue-white coalition has been setting the worst example," said Zhang Honglin, executive director of the Civic Supervision Alliance. He specifically pointed to the Legislative Yuan's proposed expenditure budget of over 3.87 billion NT dollars for the current year, which passed its initial review without a single cut. Zhang contrasted this with the logic proposed by KMT legislator Weng Hsiao-ling, who suggested cutting publicity expenses for government agencies.

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The blue-white coalition has been setting the worst example.

"Don't just criticize others while letting your own beard grow wild," Zhang stated, implying hypocrisy. He argued that if Weng's logic were applied consistently, the Legislative Yuan's own publicity-related expenses should also be eliminated. The alliance expressed dismay at the perceived lack of transparency in the current legislative session under Speaker Han Kuo-yu, calling it a step backward.

Further concerns were raised regarding the disclosure of information. The alliance highlighted that while Democratic Progressive Party legislators have demanded transparency on overseas travel expenses for lawmakers, the Legislative Yuan has yet to release the list. Additionally, the group noted that only DPP legislators have publicly disclosed information about potential outside employment, while KMT and Taiwan People's Party legislators have not, and the Legislative Yuan lacks self-regulatory requirements for such disclosures.

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Don't just criticize others while letting your own beard grow wild.