A proposal sponsored by pan-blue legislators to reinstate an 18 percent special interest rate on savings for retired civil servants, military personnel and teachers failed to pass in the legislature yesterday as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said they were prepared to launch a filibuster should the pan-blues attempt to force passage of the proposal.
In November last year, the Executive Yuan passed an administrative order abolishing the preferential pension interest rate because the nation's banks only offer savings account interest rates of 1 percent to 2 percent.
Pan-blue lawmakers yesterday demanded that their proposal to nullify the Executive Yuan's administrative order be reviewed as the first bill of the day's agenda on the floor, but DPP lawmakers insisted that establishing a statute for creating a committee to manage labor pension funds should come first.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) tried to begin cross-party negotiations on the agenda at 9am, but because lawmakers failed to reach consensus on it and a handful of other controversial bills, the meeting was adjourned until Tuesday.
DPP Legislator Lin Shu-shan (
"The lawmakers who enjoy the 18 percent preferential interest rate -- or who have family members that enjoy it -- should not voice an opinion about the proposal," Lin told the press.
PFP Spokesman Lee Hung-chun (
"They deserved the preferential pension system," he said.
DPP Legislator Lu Tien-lin (盧天麟) said that his party's proposed statute to create a committee to manage labor pension funds would benefit the country and millions of laborers.
"Labor pensions have accumulated to NT$126 billion so far. Without the committee, the government can't manage the funds in an efficient way," Lu said.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
RSS