In response to demands for a reduction in President Chen Shui-bian's (
"The president receives NT$822,000 per month. This is higher than the world average but not higher than those of some countries such as Singapore and the US," Chu said at a press conference yesterday, adding that the vice president's monthly salary of NT$620,000 would also be reviewed.
In fact, Chen's salary ranks second only to that of the Singaporean president. The US intends to raise its president's salary shortly, but until it does so, President Chen will continue to receive greater remuneration than US presidents.
"Factors to consider in determining a reasonable salary include GNP, the national budget, government officials' salary structures and those of the private sector," said Ou Yu-chan (
DPP legislator Lin Cho-shui (
The CPA was reluctant to reveal more details of the salary plan yesterday, but insisted that Chen had not expressed concern over the matter.
The DPP, before it came to power, had long argued that salaries for the president and vice president in Taiwan were way too high. In order to dampen such criticism, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had in recent years refused salary increases.
The CPA yesterday also announced a planned 3 percent salary rise for civil servants effective Jan. 1, at a total cost of NT$20 billion -- including NT$15.1 billion for central government employees.
Chu further added that the CPA was also working on a performance-related bonus program for the central government.
The previous administration had operated a year-end bonus program (年終獎金), under which civil servants with "excellent" performance ratings were rewarded with up to three month's salary in year-end bonuses while others received only half that. Chu, however, said such measures would not be followed, and a new scheme would be settled upon.
"We will come up with new measures for bonus distribution within three months," he said.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS