In November last year, more than 30 retired Republic of China military officers, including retired lieutenant general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), attended a ceremony in Beijing to mark the 150th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) birthday.
When they respectfully listened to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) lecture and China’s national anthem, they hurt the feelings of Taiwanese. And Taiwanese have been feeling even worse these past few days as the way the Cabinet is handling this “semi-treason” is creating an atmosphere of uncertainty.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) initially proposed that the pensions should be canceled for retired military officers and civil servants who participate in Chinese political activities.
However, the Liberty Times [as well as its sister newspaper, the Taipei Times] quoted an “informed official” at the Executive Yuan as saying that after several cross-ministerial discussions, the consensus was that their pensions would not be canceled, but instead they would be given a fine ranging from NT$10,000 to NT$50,000.
No matter what the truth is, the report leaves people with the feeling that the Cabinet is planning to let them off with a minor punishment.
When the news first broke, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said that the government could revoke violators’ pensions “if necessary.”
Is it no longer necessary after the cross-ministerial discussions?
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that a draft amendment proposed by the Ministry of the Interior suggests that those required to report their visits to China to the authorities could face a fine if they fail to do so in advance.
As for revoking pensions, that is a more complicated issue where clear and definite evidence is required, and the government will remedy this through other amendments.
Lo’s words might sound reasonable at first, but having read what the “informed official” said, this is obviously not what he meant.
The Central News Agency has quoted Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) as saying that the government is discussing the issue, which remains undecided.
Hsu said that issuing fines is just a proposal and that he would make an announcement once the issue has been finalized.
Retired military officers, certain political forces and perhaps even the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front Work Department are intervening indirectly in an attempt to influence the Cabinet’s final version of the amendment by leaking information.
The “informed official” is either a patriot who leaked information to trigger protests, or an idiot who supports the retired officers and the CCP.
The public should tell the Cabinet that it must act decisively on this matter, where what is right and what is wrong is clear.
Unfortunately, if the Cabinet replaces the cancelation of pensions with a fine in its final decision, it would be seen by a majority of Taiwanese as a “traitors’ Cabinet” that must step down.
Since the cancelation of pensions is a multifaceted issue, the legislative process must be conscientious and careful. Still, retired military officers have enjoyed privileges that most people do not have, as they had access to national classified information during their service.
There must be no room for ambiguity in terms of their loyalty to Taiwan. As for conscientious and careful legislation, that is an issue that must be handled by a group of experts. The Cabinet has no excuse for making any concessions on the issue.
Christian Fan Jiang is a member of Northern Taiwan Society.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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