Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and New Power Party (NPP) lawmakers yesterday proposed amendments that would authorize the recovery of pensions from those who combined years worked as civil servants with years worked for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
In 1971, the then-KMT government introduced measures that allowed public-sector employees to add their seniority as KMT officials to their seniority in public service to claim pensions.
At yesterday’s meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, DPP and NPP lawmakers discussed the reconciliation of their draft bills.
During the meeting, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) motioned to introduce his version of the bill, expanding the law’s applicability to more classes of public-sector employees than initially proposed and capping monthly pensions at NT$25,000.
The rule would not retroactively apply to those who are already retired and receiving pensions less than that amount.
Ker’s bill would authorize the recovery of pensions from retired political appointees, civil servants, teachers, military personnel, employees of state-owned enterprises and elected local government heads, in comparison with initial proposals whose effects were limited to civil servants and teachers.
Ker’s draft bill would also seek the recovery of pensions from public-sector employees who had claimed pensions for their seniority in KMT-affiliated groups, such as the Public Service Association; the China Youth Corps; the Chinese Chapter of the World Anti-Communist League and others.
If his version of the bill becomes law, the government would notify those who had claimed extra pensions to pay back an equivalent sum within two years of its promulgation, Ker said.
Ker also suggested to have the KMT shoulder the responsibility and recover the payments.
DPP lawmakers said that former vice president and KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), as well as former KMT vice chairmen Jason Hu (胡志強), the former Taichung mayor, and Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正), are among those claiming the pension privilege.
According to a government probe, about 200 retired public servants have combined their years worked as public servants with those as party officials.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS