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Former top officials' benefits slashed

Legislators from different parties enjoy an ice cream while their party caucus whips hold talks in the legislature yesterday. PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

On the last day of its special session yesterday, the legislature passed an amendment that will significantly reduce lifelong benefits for retired presidents and vice presidents.

It also approved an amendment that will allow middle- and low-ranking civil servants and police officers to travel to China without the need to get government permission, as well as four major budgets: an NT$30.9 billion special flood control budget, an NT$14 billion special budget for improving the Shihmen Reservoir and its catchment area and a NT$2.469 trillion bill for state-owned enterprises.

The amendment to the Statute Governing Preferential Treatment for Retired Presidents and Vice Presidents (卸任總統副總統禮遇條例), which will take effect in January next year, was passed without objection, with legislators across party lines saying the changes were not targeted at specific people.

Currently, retired presidents and vice presidents are entitled to lifetime preferential treatment after they retire. Legislators agreed to amend this so that the preferential treatment period will match the time spent in office.

In terms of the monthly pensions for retired presidents, in accordance with the amendment, the monthly pension for former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) will be reduced from the current NT$411,000 to NT$250,000.

But former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) is not affected by the change as he applied for a pension based on the Statute Governing Retirement Pensions for Administrative Officers (政務人員退職酬勞金給與條例) rather than the Statute Governing Preferential Treatment for Retired Presidents and Vice Presidents.

Lien's monthly payout totals NT$469,000, which includes a NT$248,000 pension as well as NT$221,000 in interest.

That higher figures caused Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus whip David Huang (黃適卓) to remark that "in this regard, the amendment is not fair."

Regarding other preferential treatments for retired leaders, some current perks provided for them like houses and vehicles were removed in the new statute.

The administrative expenditures for retired presidents will be reduced from the current NT$12 million per year to NT$8 million, NT$7 million, NT$6 million for the first three years and then NT$5 million for the rest of the year of the preferential treatment period.

The Presidential Office last night said it "respects" the Legislature's decision.

The other major amendment passed yesterday, which will allow Taiwanese officials to travel to China without government permission, will take effect in three months.

The amendment to the Statute Governing the Relations between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例) was passed unanimously.

However, the MAC yesterday warned that the passage of the amendment would pose a security threat to the country.

MAC vice chairman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) said the amendment would only leave very senior civil servants and police officers "at the top of the pyramid" unable to travel freely to China.

"Civil servants and police officers represent the government's authority. It's not just a simple issue of allowing them to have sightseeing trips in China," Liu said, adding that the amendment would mean that the administrative department no longer has control over travel to China by the majority of the country's civil personnel.

Government sources indicated that nearly 240,000 civil servants and police officers will now be allowed to travel freely to China, without any limitations -- representing 98 percent of the total police force and 65 percent of all civil servants.

Under the previous regulations, all civil servants and non-civil servants working in the National Security Bureau, the Ministry of National Defense and Bureau of Investigation under the Ministry of Justice were required to gain governmental approval to go to China.

People First Party Legislator Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國), who proposed the version, initially suggested a broader easing of restrictions on travel to China which would have covered high-level civil servants and police officers as well as elected government chiefs, legislators and city or county commissioners.

During a cross-party negotiation convened by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), legislators reached a consensus, under which the pan-blues consented to a narrower easing of restrictions and the pan-green camp agreed not to boycott the revision.

"Although we didn't think it was proper to relax such regulations on central government high-level civil servants and police officers, we might have lost more if Feng's initial version had been put to a vote," a Democratic Progressive Party caucus official said.

The amended regulations will apply to civil servants and police officers of less than the 10th rank or an equivalent government rank.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) visited the legislature late yesterday to express his thanks to legislators for passing the bills.

Additional reporting by Chang Yun-ping
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