After the public anger over the high remuneration given to senior management at Shin Shin Natural Gas, implicated in the recent gas explosion in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店), the Council of Agriculture is perpetuating the institution of “fat cat postings.”
A recently retired council official was given the position of president of the Agricultural Technology Research Institute, with a monthly salary of more than NT$188,000 (US$6,270), which is close to what a Cabinet minister is paid.
This has the public wondering whether the institute is needed at all and if the official in question was the only possible candidate for the job. The council must account for itself and allow an investigation into the matter, while legislators, as elected representatives of the public, should keep tighter control of the public purse and not let taxpayers’ money be wasted so flagrantly.
Neither should the public, as taxpayers, tolerate the perpetuation of these postings as they waste its hard-earned money.
It has happening for a long time: Whether it is the Democratic Progressive Party or the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in power, these fat cat dens have only proliferated. After the initial burp of indignation it is business as usual. The postings are mostly doled out as rewards. On top of a high salary, these positions often come with a car, a driver and an expense account, and are generally more cushy than other public institution positions.
So why would someone already in one of these positions, thinking of their own good, jeopardize all this? All they need do is play the game.
If the expertise of these officials is so outstanding and indispensable to the government, then why does it not put it to good use, rather than so readily allowing them to retire and shift over to a comfortable fat cat posting in which to prepare for their dotage. What a terrible waste of talent. As the saying goes, it is easy to find foot soldiers, but good generals are hard to come by. The level of public discontent at how the government handled foot-and-mouth disease, avian flu and US pork imports speaks volumes.
Overseas, when officials retire, they retire. Not so in Taiwan today. Officials are addicted to being in a position of power; they would be at a total loss if they retired for real. We see these officials lamenting their own lot, while being completely indifferent to the plight of ordinary people. They are preoccupied with pandering to their superiors needs so as not to put their own jobs at risk and to ensure they pave the way for life after they leave.
It is no wonder that the public is none too impressed with officials today and looks back fondly on the days when government officials who took on important roles were satisfied with living in simple retirement, showing far more integrity than the fat cats of today.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), embarking on a program of political reform, has cut the salaries of such officials in state-owned companies by a third, and mandated that these salaries cannot exceed 600,000 yuan (US$97,600). Government officials are also encouraged to retire completely. China is doing this, while here in Taiwan government debt is more than NT$24 trillion, a debt that will be passed on to the next generation and the generation after that.
The fat cats must be rooted out, but reform is not easy, nor will it be handed on a plate. If the public wants top get rid of these parasites, it has to make its voice heard and stop entertaining any extravagant ideas about government officials risking their own shot at the Holy Grail.
Du Yu is chief executive officer of the Chen-Li Task Force for Agricultural Reform.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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