Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao (姚文智) came under fire in the Legislative Yuan yesterday because of his unreasonably high salary, which critics say is more than what he is entitled to by law and equals that of a Cabinet-level minister.
Yao told the legislature that he did not know how much he was paid per month and was merely following precedents. He said that the salary paid to People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who assumed office at the GIO in 1979, was granted according to the same regulations.
When reporting on his official business at the Legislative Yuan, Yao was questioned by opposition lawmakers on the contentious issue of public servants' salaries.
According to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (
However, Lai said, Yao's salary is specially audited based on a previous law, which came into effect in 1968, rather than the more recent Organizational Statute of the Government Information Office under the Executive Yuan.
"So you receive NT$2.154 million annually. You should look into your own conduct before you criticize others," Lai told Yao.
Lai's criticism of Yao's salary was part of the opposition parties' attack on President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) recent announcement that the government would reduce the "overly generous" pension payouts for public servants.
"If you lawmakers think my salary has to be cut, just do it. Don't waste time elaborating on reasons," Yao said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS