The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it would suggest party lawmakers withdraw a motion proposing a lawmaker pension after the opposition attacked the motion, calling it self-serving.
The legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee on Thursday approved a motion filed by KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) that demanded government agencies present a bill within a month to create a pension for lawmakers, with the government and lawmakers sharing the cost.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday said the government fattened the wallets of its own people as the public suffers from the economic contraction.
KMT Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said yesterday that while the caucus respected every lawmaker’s right to propose a bill, it would suggest the motion be dropped as current economic difficulties made the motion “inappropriate.”
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), one of the initiators of the motion, said yesterday that the proposal was made out of consideration for lawmakers who do not have a pension, whereas other public servants have the Civil Servant Pension Fund (退撫基金) and laborers have the Labor Pension Fund (勞退基金).
To protect the good intentions behind the proposal, however, Lu said that he would advise his fellow initiators to withdraw it.
Meanwhile, in a bid to rescue cash-strapped small and medium enterprises (SME) and traditional industry, the DPP said it would propose a NT$100 billion (US$300 million) relief fund to help save at-risk companies, especially those adversely affected by the trade pact to be signed between Taiwan and China.
DPP Legislators Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) and Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) called for bipartisan support, saying the fund would be allocated to qualified companies in a span of three years and is vital to Taiwan’s growth and economic development.
The DPP caucus said it would officially pitch the draft on Monday.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
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