The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday disputed President Chen Shui-bian's (
"Using time spent in party service as time spent in public service was a product of the martial law era when one party ruled the country. That practice was abolished with the lifting of martial law," KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (
According to Cheng, the regulations during the martial law era allowed KMT members to count their service in the party as public sector service. In the past, most KMT members chose to retire as party members, instead of public servants, so their experience as public servants would be transformed to make up part of their KMT work service and they would receive retirement pensions from the party.
"It is not an issue anymore. The DPP is just exaggerating the issue as part of its smear campaign before the elections next month because they don't have anything to present to the voters," she added.
Chen said on Saturday that retired high-ranking KMT officials enjoyed the 18 percent interest rate on their savings, and said he would try to cut all the years they had served in the party from their service records.
The president yesterday said it was important to adjust the preferential interest rates given to retired civil servants. During a campaign event in Changhua County, Chen said that this would be the best way to eliminate the opposition between different social classes. Chen said that KMT Vice Chairman Kuan Chong's (關中) remarks about the revision shows that the KMT is not sincere about supporting the government's reform program.
"The KMT's past ambiguity of serving as governmental officials and party members had to be tackled anyway," Chen said.
Cheng said the party "would have no complaints" if Chen wants to cut the pensions of what he called the "hundreds of retired high-ranking KMT officials."
"But he shouldn't punish ordinary civil servants, teachers and military personnel by creating a class conflict to try to boost his party's campaign for next month's elections," she said.
Meanwhile, KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"The Chen Che-nan (
In addition to slamming the DPP, Ma reiterated that KMT candidates should avoid corrupt tactice in the elections, nor should they govern corruptly.
"KMT candidates should keep in mind that we should never buy votes during elections, and avoid corruption when in power," he said.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
RSS