Blue, green camps propose differing pension-cut plans

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) complained yesterday that former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) monthly pension as a retired vice president is bigger than President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) salary.

"He [Lien] now earns a monthly paycheck [pension] of NT$470,000 [US$13,952] as a retired vice president, which is more than the president's monthly paycheck. Is that reasonable?" said Gao, who is secretary-general of the DPP's Justice Alliance.

Both the pan-green camp and pan-blue camp yesterday proposed their own amendments to the "Statute Governing Preferential Treatment to Retired Presidents and Vice Presidents" (卸任總統副總統禮遇條例) to abolish or reduce the stipends paid to former leaders.

The law states that former presidents and vice presidents get a life-time pension. The pan-green camp proposes paying former presidents a pension for 12 years, while former vice presidents would get a pension for four years. They want to reduce the size of the pensions as well, but have yet to propose final figures.

The pan-blue camp proposes paying former presidents and vice presidents pensions for just five years. But they think their should be a "penalty" clause.

"If the country's economy slows down, their pensions will drop, too," said KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順).

Huang also suggested that the paychecks for all presidential advisers be cut as well.

"Our final version of the amendment will be discussed during the legislative meeting next Monday," she said. "If we want to reform, we shall reform everything, from the top to the bottom."

The pension issue became a hot topic after DPP Legislator Lin Chuo-shui (林濁水) proposed looking into the appropriateness of using taxpayer money to pay for a lifetime's worth of preferential treatment for former presidents and vice presidents.