Private-sector salaries
During the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) time in government, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) protested against every suggestion that salaries for military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers be raised.
The reason was the difficult fiscal situation: The general public had not benefited from the improved economy, living standards had not improved and civil servants shared the hardship. Considering such salary increases were deemed proper only once national finances had improved.
Some people think that the policy U-turn is either an attempt to pander to civil servants or part of the preparation for next year’s local elections.
The government thinks that the economy is showing signs of picking up, but the general public is not benefiting.
With salaries at the same level they were stuck at a dozen years ago and continuous high unemployment, just having a stable job is reason to celebrate.
Raising civil servants’ salaries by 3 percent will cost tax payers NT$18 billion (US$597.89 million) per year. The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration estimates that the total, including personnel administration costs, will be closer to NT$40 billion.
Add to this the cost of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program and we are left wondering where the money will come from.
It is a good thing that the government wants to take the lead in initiating a general salary increase in the private sector.
How to make employers follow suit and raise workers’ salaries will now be up to Premier William Lai (賴清德) and his Cabinet’s ability to negotiate and follow through on its promise without ending up in a situation where everyone is unhappy.
Wu Yi-chung
Chiayi County
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
RSS