A veteran in Taipei has complained that the Veterans Affairs Council (VAC) was making him feel threatened due to its indecision over implementation of home care subsidy payouts.
Lin Ming-pang (林銘邦) said that the council has demanded that he repay 16 years of the subsidies, or about NT$3 million (US$98,056).
The subsidy was offered to veterans who agreed to be cared for at government institutions or those who sustained injuries in the line of duty.
Lin said that he told the council he was willing to repay the money, but that the sum was too great and he could only repay it in installments.
One council official told him that such a method would be acceptable and that, due to his age, the council would write off the remainder should he fail to repay the complete sum before his death, Lin said.
However, a separate council official told him that his family would have to continue paying off the debt after his death and that he would incur a 5 percent interest penalty if he repays in installments, Lin said.
“I understand that they are only doing their jobs, but it is absurd for me to pay interest on what is an administrative oversight by the council,” Lin said.
Upon asking how many people were in the same situation, Lin said that he was told there were 13 others in Taipei alone and more than 100 nationwide.
He quoted a letter from the council saying that “of these individuals, you are the wealthiest.”
One of the officials had told him that some of the others in the same situation had already used up all their funds or were destitute, Lin said.
Lin said that he earned his savings and assets, adding that his home is only under his name because the bank offered a lower interest rate for retired civil servants.
“It is unfair for the council to target me and demand repayment of the funds because I am well-off,” Lin said. “It is almost like the council is trying to defraud me.”
He said that he finally understood why he had heard older veterans who came to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) criticizing the council as “assholes.”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) said that as the subsidies were given to those injured in the line of duty, there is no reason for them to “suffer simply due to the military’s administrative oversight,” which goes against the concept of transitional justice.
Should the council insist on demanding repayment, everyone who approved the subsidy should also be held accountable, he said.
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