The government is in the red and national liability has ballooned by NT$1.5 trillion (US$50 billion) compared with last year, placing Taiwan on the stage as a potential player in what may be Asia’s Greek tragedy, Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Yeh Chin-ling (葉津玲) said yesterday.
The government’s income next year is estimated to be NT$1.79 billion, but its expenditure stands at NT$1.95 billion, placing the nation NT$160 billion in debt, Yeh said, adding that the government was falling NT$200 billion more into debt every year.
The government has overestimated its tax income, and while the growth rate of the debt has slowed, the account liability has swelled tremendously, Yeh said.
Yeh also said that liability and debt growth were continuing to surge, adding that by June, liability accrued by all levels of government reached NT$17 trillion — surpassing the nation’s annual income.
The factor contributing the most to liability growth in the past year was labor insurance, which amounted to NT$1.3 trillion, NT$948 billion more than its estimated annual growth of NT$394 billion, Yeh said.
Unless the Bureau of Labor Insurance made a gross error in its calculations, the discrepancy is a conscious action designed to scare workers with the idea that “the Labor Insurance Fund would go broke,” Yeh said.
“If President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration does not tackle the annuity funding issue, the nation stands to become the next Greece and default on its debts,” she added.
Yeh said that regardless of the figures’ accuracy, the nation has a tremendous amount of liability and is seeing shortages among all four government funds — the Labor Insurance Fund, the labor pension, the civil service pension and the planned annuity fund.
The funds are the main source of pensions for retirees.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS