Legislators yesterday criticized Minister of Labor Kuo Fan-yu (郭芳煜) at a legislative hearing for failing to take a definitive stance on national pension reform, with opposition legislators questioning the representativeness of the new national reform committee.
New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) criticized the ministry for providing only a three-page report on plans for “generational justice” in national pensions, with different national funds likely to become bankrupt within the next few decades because of a rapidly aging population.
“All you say is that you’ll provide expert opinion to the national committee [on pension reform], which means that there’s nothing to report on or discuss publicly,” Hung said.
"Because reform has to be thoroughly discussed by the committee, publicizing the many alternative plans we have would not have been appropriate,” Kuo said, echoing statements by Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億), the deputy convener and executive director of the 37-member national pension reform committee established by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
He added that comments last month stating that the “income replacement ratio” for workers should not be cut were views shared with him by labor organizations rather than the ministry’s final position, and that the national reform committee would make a final decision on what mix of changes to benefits, fees and government subsidies should be used to prevent bankruptcy.
“Everything can be discussed, different occupations must be taken into consideration before a decision can be reached on how much change must be made and it is difficult for me to predict the outcome,” he said, adding that the ministry would “review” whether additional fee increases would be needed.
The pension reform committee’s ability to draft credible reform plans drew skepticism from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators.
“I’m extremely skeptical that the pension reform committee will be able to reflect the opinions of young working people,” KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said, criticizing the committee for including only three blue-collar workers’ representatives.
“There should basic proportionality in representation and blue-collar workers comprise the vast majority of the workforce,” she said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it