The Examination Yuan yesterday said it would seek a constitutional interpretation from the Council of Grand Justices if the legislature backed a Cabinet proposal that would allow about 1,000 government staffers to enjoy civil servant pension entitlements.
“If the legislature passed the bills, the only choice we have is to appeal to the Council of Grand Justices for a constitutional interpretation,” said Kuei Hung-chen (桂宏誠), head of Examination Yuan President John Kuan’s (關中) office.
At the center of the controversy is a series of amendments proposed by the Cabinet relating to the restructuring of the Bureau of Labor Insurance and Bureau of National Health Insurance, under which a total of 1,094 specialists — most of whom are financial experts — would be given the option to share the same benefits accorded to civil servants.
The employees, whose average age is 50, were recruited to work in the public sector through examinations that are different from the national examinations required for public functionaries. The examination system for the specialists was abolished in 1997.
If the specialists opt to have their status changed to civil servants, they may receive a lower monthly salary than they do now, but they will be given the choice of having their pension paid in monthly installments instead of a lump sum.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee on Thursday when the bills were deliberated, Civil Service Vice Minister Wu Tsung-cheng (吳聰成) voiced strong opposition to the revisions, saying it would cost the government an additional NT$10.4 billion (US$358.16 million) to cover the pension payments.
According to Wu, if a specialist who earns NT$47,000 a month were given the same option as a civil servant in choosing monthly pension payments when they retire after 30 years of service, they could receive as much as NT$14 million if they were to live 27.4 years past retirement.
In contrast, employees who choose to retain their status as specialists would only be able to claim a lump-sum payment of about NT$3 million after retirement, Wu said.
Lawmakers were divided on the issue. Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers were strongly opposed to the amendments, saying that specialists in other government agencies, such as the Financial Supervisory Commission, were not given the same choice when the agencies were restructured.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said his caucus was leaning toward supporting the Cabinet’s proposal, but added that he hoped the Cabinet and the Examination Yuan could iron out their differences first.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from