The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), which has been left with only ceremonial functions after cross-strait negotiations were institutionalized and transferred to government agencies, is allocating more money for personnel than the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center has found in its latest report.
It called for an examination of the foundation’s functions to avoid government overlaps.
Its report showed that with the cross-strait negotiation mechanism having been established over recent years and the main role in negotiations transferred to the council and other government agencies, the SEF no longer has a substantial role in cross-strait negotiations.
However, the report found that the planned spending for personnel in the foundation’s NT$308 million (US$10.13 million) budget for next year has increased from NT$133.25 million last year and NT$152.61 million this year to NT$153.95 million next year — a 15.54 percent increase and a 0.88 percent increase respectively.
Average personnel spending for the foundation’s 113 workers next year is to be NT$1.362 million per person per year, which beats the NT$1.315 million of the MAC, the agency that supervises the SEF and has planned to allot NT$383.91 million for its 292 workers.
The foundation’s average salary is higher than that of the council, to which the Budget Center advised a re-deliberation.
For instance, SEF Chairman Lin Join-sane (林中森) is paid a monthly wage as high as NT$247,000, which tops the NT$190,000 for an appointed head at any other ministry or department; the SEF also pays more than NT$100,000 to several of its directors, the report showed.
The center said it is unreasonable that SEF workers, who are not hired via national exams, are paid more than civil servants.
In recent years, the council’s subsidy has come to account for more than 60 percent of the foundation’s annual income, the report found.
The council’s NT$196 million subsidy for the foundation next year, for example, accounts for 67.69 percent of the SEF’s annual income; the SEF’s planned personnel expenditures of NT$153.95 million take up as much as 78.53 percent of such official support.
The center questioned the spending and said that excessive personnel expenditures would crowd out the operation of cross-strait business and be counterproductive.
When reached for comment, SEF spokesperson Ma Shaw-chang (馬紹章) said the SEF plays an important role in developing cross-strait relations, which involve various negotiations and arrangements.
The foundation is still irreplaceable, he said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS