Members of teachers’ unions yesterday joined retired military personnel in a march to the Executive Yuan in Taipei to protest pension reform promotional materials, condemning the use of the term “unjust” on a poster.
The poster depicts a child’s hand touching an adult’s hand, calling for pension reform “for the sake of children.”
Dozens of National Federation of Teachers’ Unions members and the retired military personnel — who have been camped outside the Legislative Yuan to protest pension reform — twice clashed with police while waiting for a government representative to hear their demands over the poster, which was approved by the Cabinet earlier this month and calls the pension system “unjust.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“What we see is the Democratic Progressive Party continually seeking to vilify military personnel, civil servants and teachers on the issue of pensions, a campaign for which it has even enlisted government agencies and the education system,” federation director-general Huang Yao-nan (黃耀南) said, adding that numerous ministries and schools had been instructed to distribute the poster electronically.
“If you want to push for pension reform, you can make your case, but there is no need to use the word ‘unjust,’” he said.
“The government should be objective and stop portraying us as fat cats and the enemy,” Huang added.
Retired general Yeh Yi-sheng (葉宜生) said that the government has cited a desire to correct its finances as motivation to enact pension reforms, but has proposed an NT$880 billion (US$28.86 billion) plan to build infrastructure.
The government has been reneging on its promises and alleging that civil servants, educators and military personnel have been growing fat from too much money, he said.
“They want us to face the brunt of difficult times together,” Yeh said. “If that is the case, perhaps lawmakers, high-ranking officials and the president should ‘face the difficult times together.’”
Federation member Lin Shuo-chieh (林碩杰) said the poster promised “false reforms and real oppression,” adding that the distribution of such materials to schools was reminiscent of China’s Cultural Revolution.
“The content of the poster was mistaken and inappropriate,” said Department of Information Services Director Kao Tsun (高遵), who met with protesters outside of the Executive Yuan. “Negativity cannot achieve our aim of two-way communication. We will not use it in the future.”
The department on Friday removed the poster from the Cabinet’s official Web site and instructed other government agencies to take it down from their respective sites, he said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS