Chairmen and top executives of Veterans Affairs Council (VAC) natural gas reinvestment businesses have drawn NT$2 million to NT$3 million (US$63,763 to US$95,645) annual salaries, despite none of the 15 entities showing a profit that would have required them to deposit into a provident fund, a report by the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said.
Article 12 of the Privately Owned Public Utilities Supervisory Act (民營公用事業監督條例) stipulates that when “the net income of privately owned public utilities exceeds 25 percent of the total paid-in capital, half of such excess amount shall be used for the betterment and expansion of the equipment, while the remaining half shall be the users’ provident fund in the event of a fee-reduction.”
Data provided by the council showed that of the 15 businesses, six chairmen and five chief executives are retired military officials.
Amid accusations that the firms are haboring “fat cats,” questions have been raised over whether the top-tier salaries are linked to performance and whether they are affecting profits.
Council Deputy Director Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) said the profitability of the natural gas reinvestment companies is higher than the reinvestment businesses of other government agencies and private natural gas companies, but the expenses have increased due to renovations and upgrades to pipelines, while natural gas prices have decreased greatly in the past few years.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said the council should put in place performance evaluation criteria for top executives to counter the appearance that the appointments are political rewards.
New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said the council should undertake a review examining the qualifications of the executives.
Lee said the council is working on a performance evaluation system that would limit the term of a top executive director to three years and only those who score more than 90 points on a 100-point yearly evaluation could extend their terms.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS