Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday stifled proceedings at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee over a pending actuarial report on military pension reforms, while criticizing Wednesday’s hearing assembled by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus on the issue as a “formality.”
DPP Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇), the party’s convener on the committee, yesterday held a question-and-answer session on the pension reform bill.
The session was attended by Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) and Veteran Affairs Council Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正).
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Immediately after the meeting began, KMT lawmakers, who had occupied the speaker’s podium in the early morning, began shouting slogans, demanding that the DPP improve its communication with retired military retirees before holding a question-and-answer session.
As the meeting was unable to proceed, Wang adjourned meeting 90 minutes.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) later told a news conference that Wednesday’s hearing on the pension reform bill was just a formality, as both Yen and Chiu were absent and it had only lasted the morning.
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday submitted only a financial impact assessment report on the planned pension reform, which is different from the actuarial report that the government tendered last year for pension cuts for civil servants and public-school teachers, said KMT Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲), who chairs the committee.
Last year’s actuarial report was notarized by an actuarian, while yesterday’s financial report, which was compiled by the National Defense University, was not, she added.
Lu said that she would next week hold another public hearing on the military pension reform bill at the legislature next week, as the government had not ensured sufficient communication with active and retired military personnel, despite repeated calls since last year.
KMT Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said the DPP scheduled a legislative question-and-answer session before finalizing an actuarial report, thereby keeping lawmakers in the dark as to how much money the planned pension reform might actually save the government.
Without objective data, all discussion on pension reform might be passionate but counterproductive to reviewing the bill, he added.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) accused the DPP of applying a double standard in its handling of those protesting pension reform on Wednesday and those in the Sunflower movement who broke into the Executive Yuan in 2014.
The DPP on Wednesday arrested 57 protesters because they did not share the party’s vision, but the DPP last year dropped charges against Sunflower campaigners because they helped get it elected, Lai said.
“Taiwan is a democratic nation that respects human rights. We cannot accept such a double standard on human rights,” he said.
Additional reporting by Tseng Wei-tseng
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