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Chen vows to reduce pensions

The government is committed to reducing the generous pension payouts for public servants, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday.

Speaking during an opening ceremony at a national personnel administration meeting held yesterday in Taipei, Chen said the government has sensed the need to revise existing regulations, which offer favorable interest rates for retirees from the military, government and public schools.

The regulations make it possible for some retirees to have monthly incomes as much as 30 percent higher than their salary before retirement, due to preferential interest rates of up to 18 percent, Chen said.

Citing a recent government survey, Chen said nearly 60 percent of people interviewed believe that the regulations need to be revised. About half of the interviewed people believe that it is acceptable for retirees to receive monthly pensions that are between 80 percent and 90 percent of their previous monthly salaries.

"Therefore I have to say that unreasonable regulations, which were left by the former administration, have to be revised, and the reforms have nothing to do with the ethics of retirees," Chen said.

Chen said the reform would be carried out based on ensuring a balance between social justice and retirees' quality of life.

Chen requested that Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), Examination Yuan Vice President Wu Rong-ming (吳容明) and all the other members of the Examination Yuan give their full support for the plan developed by its Ministry of Civil Service (銓敘部).

In related news, lawmakers yesterday had mixed responses to Chen's remarks on Sunday night that he would relinquish the presidential prerogative of criminal immunity, and accept an investigation by a "clean-government commission" controlled by his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party.

The president did not explain in detail how the commission would be formulated.

If he is found to have played a part in Kaohsiung City's subway system scandal, Chen repeated that he is willing to step down.

Painting the president's talk as a mere "campaign scheme," the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus called on the president to renounce his immunity for other cases, such as the controversy involving Miaoli County Commissioner Fu Hsueh-peng (傅學鵬).

Chen reportedly told Fu that if Fu helps the DPP's candidate win the county's top position, he will help Fu get an "important" position in the central government.

Calling the president's remark a pork-barrel policy, the KMT and PFP caucuses have filed a lawsuit with the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office against Chen for vote-buying.

Commenting on the KMT's criticism, DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said that opposition parties castigated the government no matter what it does.

"What scares them most is seeing us reform and become a better party," he said. "We will not take their unreasonable criticism seriously, and are determined to forge ahead with the `Six Reforms' pledged by the president."

Lai also complimented the president's interview on Sunday for helping the public better understand the government's resolve to reform, saying that his caucus will support the president 100 percent.

additional reporting by Jewel Huang
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