A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) faction yesterday attacked Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials for counting the years they worked for the KMT before entering public office to help qualify for generous retirement benefits.
"Why do they deserve to get that?" asked DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (
"The KMT is clearly mixing its party coffers with those of the state and it is a venomous legacy of the authoritarian era," he said.
Citing the example of KMT Vice Chairman Kuan Chong (關中), Gao said 10 years of Kuan's "civil service" was in fact spent working for the KMT.
While the KMT should have been paying retirement contributions for the time he worked there, taxpayers are instead bearing the burden, Gao said.
Gao also singled out former Presidential Office secretary general Ding Mao-shih (丁懋時), former Judicial Yuan president Shih Chi-yang (施啟揚), former minister of transportation and communications Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正), former Control Yuan president Wang Tso-jung (王作榮) and Loh I-cheng (陸以正), a former ambassador to South Africa, as have taken advantage of the tactic.
DPP caucus whip Jao Yung-ching (
While the 18 percent preferential interest rate given to civil servants "deserved immediate review," DPP Legislator Chen Tsiao-long (陳朝龍) criticized the pan-blue alliance for twisting the DPP government's "good intentions" and creating tension between the government and civil servants.
Vice Minister of Civil Service Wu Tsung-cheng (吳聰成) said it is legitimate for retirees to count the time they worked at the KMT because a KMT government order in December 1971 legalized the practice. The decree, however, was nullified in 1987 for civil servants who were yet to retire.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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