CNA file photo

Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) The Executive Yuan (Cabinet) is expected to approve a national budget plan of NT$1.98 trillion (US$65.33 billion) for 2018, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Tuesday.

The budget plan earmarks NT$285.1 billion for education, NT$489.8 billion on social welfare spending, NT$151.5 billion for public construction and NT$98.5 billion on science and technology.

DGBAS chief Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) said Premier Lin Chuan (林全) already presented the annual budget report to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at a meeting last week.

The President's only observation was that she would like to see increased funding for the government's New Southbound Policy in fiscal 2018, Chu said.

According to the DGBAS, the Cabinet is set to discuss and pass the fiscal 2018 budget plan on Thursday before sending it to the Legislative Yuan for review. 

(By Ku Chuan, Sophia Yeh and Ko Lin)
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