Opposition lawmakers criticized the government Tuesday over a mounting national debt and some of its proposed spending, as the Legislative Yuan prepared to debate the government budget for 2011. In a news conference called by the legislative caucus of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), lawmaker Wong Chin-chu said that three years into its first term the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou has run up a debt of NT$1.42 trillion (US$44.31 billion) , compared to the NT$1.3 trillion that existed after the DPP had been in power for eight years. Of that NT$1.3 trillion, Wong said, NT$778.8 billion was borrowed to cover payments on debts accumulated by the previous KMT government, and NT$93.2 billion was used to replenish the Food Stabilization Fund. That means only NT$518.3 billion was actually used by the DPP administration, Wong said. Another DPP legislator, Huang Wei-cher, said the Ma administration has set a record for the lowest debt service ratio and the highest rate of debt accumulation. 'The record low debt service ratio is an indication of how fast the government is running up the national debt,' he said. He suggested that a national debt meter be set up in front of the Presidential Office to alert the public to the heavy financial burden being imposed by the government. Wong also questioned the necessity for a publicity budget of NT$177.68 million for the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) next year. Noting that the allocation has risen from NT$31.66 million in 2009 to NT$125.31 million in 2010 and NT$177.68 million for 2011, Wong said this represents an amazing year-on-year growth of 295.78 percent and 41.8 percent, respectively. She questioned why the MAC needed so much money for publicity now that its major task, the economic cooperation framework agreement with China, has been concluded. The MAC also came under fire from Legislator Huang Wei-cher, who said the MAC is supposed to be a watchdog of the country's cross-strait policy and should therefore apply the brakes whenever the government tries to rush recklessly into reconciliation with China. 'The council mistakenly sees itself as the Cultural and Information Commission of the Kuomintang or as China's Taiwan Affairs Office,' Huang said. The government's 2011 budget will be reviewed in the legislature when the new session opens on Sept. 24. 