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SUCCESS OF WEAPONS PROCUREMENT BILL HINGES ON ADMINISTRATION: KMT

ROC Central News Agency

2005-12-14 13:13:55

    Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) The success of the arms procurement bill hinges on the decisions made by the administration rather than on U.S. opinions, opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou said Wednesday.

    After the bill was once again blocked in the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan Tuesday -- the 41st time since it was presented to the legislature in 2004 -- Ma said that it is unclear whether the Executive Yuan will make changes to the bill or not, but one thing that is clear is that the issue of the NT$480 billion (US$14.55 billion) arms procurment package is a matter for the government to decide on, and not the United States.

    Ma made the remarks in reponse to media reports that quoted sources in Washington as saying that the procurement bill for the three major U.S. weaponry items -- six PAC III Patriot anti-missile batteries, eight diesel-fueled submarines and 12 anti-submarine aircraft -- would be more workable and pragmatic if the budget for the whole package were included in the Ministry of National Defense's regular annual budget rather financed by a special budget as proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party government.

    The current Executive Yuan-proposed bill calls for the first item to be included in the ministry's regular annual budget and the other two items to be financed through a special budget.

    Asked by reporters whether the KMT -- the main opposition party in the Legislative Yuan -- would support the bill if all the items in the package were included in the defense ministry's regular annual budget, Ma said that the bill would be acceptable to all the parties that are currently opposing the bill because of the special budget.

    Meanwhile, Ma, who has been advocating a speedy handling of the KMT-held assets issue since he took the KMT helm in August this year, said that the proposed liquidation of the KMT's shares in China Television Co. and the China Broadcasting Corp. as well as other KMT-run companies has been intensely discussed and that the KMT headqurters will inform the public as soon as concrete plans are worked out.

(By Deborah Kuo)

ENDITEM/Li