CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) should have first reviewed its high personnel costs and made its oil purchasing contracts transparent, the pan-green camp said yesterday after the state-run firm hiked fuel prices.
The prices of gasoline and diesel products rose by an average of 10.7 percent yesterday, the steepest pace in nearly four years, following a decision by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Sunday to end a cap on fuel-price increases.
The ministry said the increase represented a “normalization” of prices and a solution for CPC’s recent losses.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsun, Taipei Times
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said while it does not oppose reasonable fuel-price increases, the decision should have been made after CPC reviewed its high personnel costs and disclosed its oil purchasing contracts, which have never been made public.
“If CPC fails to act on these suggestions, the DPP will not rule out boycotting the company’s budget,” DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) told a press conference.
“The company has refused to review its floating fuel price mechanism and it is using taxpayers like an ATM, squeezing money out of them whenever it is in the red,” Pan said.
The fuel price increases, as well as hikes to electricity and water costs which are reportedly being considered by the ministry, could push up inflation, Pan added.
“How many companies can distribute year-end bonuses that are equivalent to 4.6 months of pay to every employee, regardless of whether the company makes a profit or not?” DPP Legislator Tsai Chih-chang (蔡其昌) asked.
CPC should stop keeping its oil purchasing agreements opaque by citing confidentiality, Tsai added.
DPP Legislator Yang Yao (楊曜) of Penghu, where many residents earn a living by fishing, said the fuel price increase would have a huge impact on the fishing industry, which is already suffering.
Commodity price increases have been the norm since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May 2008, DPP lawmakers Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) and Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) said, adding that Ma should have told the public about plans for the fuel price hike prior to the presidential election.
The price of liquefied natural gas has risen by 33.93 percent since May 2008, while natural gas is up 32.5 percent, gasoline is up 5.64 percent and electricity rates could rise by 50.47 percent, Hsu said.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-hsiang (施顏祥) should step down over his failure to present countermeasures to rising commodity prices.
The TSU also urged that the privatization of CPC be sped up.
TSU party whip Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) said CPC Corp is misleading the public when it says that personnel costs only account for 2.2 percent of its total costs because the firm’s large operating scale distorts the comparison.
About 46 percent of CPC employees receive an annual salary of NT$1 million (US$33,900) or more, with more than 1,100 employees earning more than NT$86,000 a month, Hsu said.
In response, Shih said the government had no choice but to impose the substantial hike.
CPC has incurred enormous loses because domestic fuel prices have been lower than actual market prices for many years, Shih told reporters at the legislature.
CPC’s financial burden is a “hidden debt” on the government’s shoulders, he said.
“We cannot let the situation go on, so the decision was necessary,” he said.
Shih said if the increase was not implemented, the public would eventually have to foot the bill for CPC’s debt, which he said stood at several tens of billions of NT dollars.
Meanwhile, Fair Trade Commission Chairman Wu Shiow-ming (吳秀明) said that as long as Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) had not discussed any price adjustments beforehand with CPC, the two businesses had not violated fair trade laws.
Additional reporting by CNA
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
CLASSIFIED BRIEFING: The ministry said the special budget focuses on building a comprehensive defense system and strengthening the domestic defense industry The Ministry of National Defense yesterday released information on seven categories of weapons systems to be procured under a stalled NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.57 billion) special defense budget, including precision artillery, long-range missiles, air defense anti-tank missiles and more than 200,000 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Executive Yuan approved a draft version of the budget on Nov. 27 last year and submitted it to the legislature for review. The legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday invited Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to deliver a classified briefing and answer questions at a closed-door session. Koo said he hoped to provide lawmakers
RSS