The China Post
Date: May 11, 2017
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — President Tsai Ing-wen and the chiefs of Democratic Progressive Party- (DPP) ruled cities and counties have condemned the continual obstruction of the draft bill for the Special Act for Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Plan in the Legislature.

Both the president’s and mayors’ statements Wednesday came during and after the DPP’s Central Standing Committee meeting. For days, the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) caucus party has obstructed legislative procedure to review the draft bill that would grant a total budget of NT$882.49 billion for infrastructure projects around Taiwan, including new light railways and several rail extension or improvement projects over eight years.

Taking a harsher tone, Tsai condemned the KMT for employing “irrational obstruction” and resistance over not only the pension reform bills but also the infrastructure plan, calling the former a plan “to lessen the burden on the next generation,” and the latter “to invest in the next generation’s future.”

Magistrates and mayors of all political colors have all wished to acquire more funding for infrastructure projects to improve local living quality, the president said, saying that more consideration should be taken in regards of the needs of Central and Southern Taiwan to balance out regional development all over the island.
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