ICRT rounds some stuff up

And the result is a pretty interesting mix of news:

Senior officials here are hinting it's possible, but not likely ... that an
Economic Comprehensive Framework Agreement ... or ECFA ... will be discussed
at the next round of cross strait talks.

Straits Exchange Foundation chairman P.K. Chiang said the scope of the
agreement is as yet uncertain ... and that relevant agencies here are still
researching the matter.

He added that the Mainland Affairs Council has yet to authorize discussions
on the matter at the upcoming round of talks ... saying its inclusion on the
agenda will depend on future developments.

In other words, we'll do all the secret negotiations first and then just rubber stamp it when the time comes. Make sure to read Michael Turton's post on this subject today. It really makes the case of how the agreement really is more political than the KMT would like you to believe.

The Ministry of National Defense says starting 2011, the armed forces will
increase the percentage of voluntary enlistment by 10 percent every year
until they reach the goal of 100 percent of voluntary military service by the
end of 2014.

Chen Zhao-min says then in 2015, except for those volunteering to join the
army, all young men of the right age will receive four-months military
training and become a reserve force.

Meanwhile Chen says his ministry is working on an overhaul of the defense
system to fit with this dramatic change and will present a complete report to
the Legislature in June.

In principal I dislike compulsory service, but I worry about how this will affect combat readiness -- I suspect in a very negative way.

The Ministry of Finance is trying to allay fears that the government will
increase the number of tax audits it performs to make up for shortfalls in
tax revenues.

With the poor economic climate, lawmakers are calling on a one-year
moratorium on computerized audits.

However, Finance Minister Li Shu-de says there's no need, making the point
that each year there are only 20,000 randomly-chosen tax accounts examined.

Now that is comical! Don't do audits since more people will likely evade taxes! But that's ok, don't worry, we don't do many audits anyway!