Monthly pension payments, national health insurance, an 18 percent interest rate: Describing this combination as “the best retirement system in the world” is a misnomer; it is not a retirement system — it is a tool to perpetuate class differences and oppress the public.
Commodity prices in Taiwan are lower than in Europe or North America. In terms of purchasing power, monthly retirement payments and national health insurance make military personnel, civil servants and teachers in Taiwan some of the most privileged groups in the world. The 18 percent interest rate is worth perhaps another NT$30,000 extra every month, which means a retired soldier, civil servant or teacher can earn anything from NT$60,000 to more than NT$100,000 per month. This is not retirement, it is an extortion racket.
A retired couple who bought their home a long time ago, whose children are now adults, and who can use the national health insurance in case of illness will not spend more than NT$20,000 to NT$30,000 a month on food, and pocket the remaining money. The 18 percent interest and the remaining retirement money will of course go to their children and grandchildren. That is why the children of military personnel, civil servants and teachers can study abroad, travel, accumulate wealth and buy a second home, all without having to work.
These pensioners live a leisurely life aimed at pursuing their own and their children and grandchildren’s interests. They have more time, energy and perseverance than anyone else when it comes to protecting the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) policies, economic interests and ideology.
It is hardly surprising that they are a willing part of the political apparatus that perpetuates the status of the KMT elite and its rule over Taiwan.
What is the difference between the people living off the 18 percent interest rate and the comfortable life that makes possible and the Mongolian rulers who were fed by the Chinese they also ruled?
We should feel sorry for all those poor people whose parents are not in the military or work as civil servants or teachers. Even if they’ve taken out a student loan to finish their university studies, they are still unlikely to earn more than NT$30,000 per month. They do not own their homes and although they earn less than half of what a retired soldier, civil servant or teacher receives, they have to pay rent and are expected to get married, have children and raise a family. Such people have problems making it from one day to the next and of course they have no time to pay attention to the public interest or politics. They must accept that they are typical examples of a ruled and oppressed class.
The way in which the KMT elite uses the perks it gives to military personnel, civil servants and teachers to economically suppress Taiwanese can only be described as the oppression of a whole nation. The proportion of ‘Mainlanders” that enjoy the 18 percent preferential interest rate is many times larger than the proportion of such people in the Hoklo, Hakka or Aboriginal ethnic groups. That is why the 18 percent preferential interest rate, in addition to consolidating the perpetuation of the ruling class, is also a way for that class and the KMT’s ruling clique to oppress everyone else.
The 18 percent interest rate is the perfect reason for a revolution. It is also the perfect reason to hold a referendum.
If the Democratic Progressive Party continues to do no more than talk about the “reform” of this system and pretends not to hear calls for abolition of the preferential interest rate, that would be reason enough to establish a new pro-Taiwan political party.
Lin Chia is an independent commentator.
TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON
In the US’ National Security Strategy (NSS) report released last month, US President Donald Trump offered his interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine. The “Trump Corollary,” presented on page 15, is a distinctly aggressive rebranding of the more than 200-year-old foreign policy position. Beyond reasserting the sovereignty of the western hemisphere against foreign intervention, the document centers on energy and strategic assets, and attempts to redraw the map of the geopolitical landscape more broadly. It is clear that Trump no longer sees the western hemisphere as a peaceful backyard, but rather as the frontier of a new Cold War. In particular,
When it became clear that the world was entering a new era with a radical change in the US’ global stance in US President Donald Trump’s second term, many in Taiwan were concerned about what this meant for the nation’s defense against China. Instability and disruption are dangerous. Chaos introduces unknowns. There was a sense that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) might have a point with its tendency not to trust the US. The world order is certainly changing, but concerns about the implications for Taiwan of this disruption left many blind to how the same forces might also weaken
As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) races toward its 2027 modernization goals, most analysts fixate on ship counts, missile ranges and artificial intelligence. Those metrics matter — but they obscure a deeper vulnerability. The true future of the PLA, and by extension Taiwan’s security, might hinge less on hardware than on whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can preserve ideological loyalty inside its own armed forces. Iran’s 1979 revolution demonstrated how even a technologically advanced military can collapse when the social environment surrounding it shifts. That lesson has renewed relevance as fresh unrest shakes Iran today — and it should
As the new year dawns, Taiwan faces a range of external uncertainties that could impact the safety and prosperity of its people and reverberate in its politics. Here are a few key questions that could spill over into Taiwan in the year ahead. WILL THE AI BUBBLE POP? The global AI boom supported Taiwan’s significant economic expansion in 2025. Taiwan’s economy grew over 7 percent and set records for exports, imports, and trade surplus. There is a brewing debate among investors about whether the AI boom will carry forward into 2026. Skeptics warn that AI-led global equity markets are overvalued and overleveraged
RSS