The Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee yesterday passed an initial review of draft amendments to the Act of Military Service for Officers and Noncommissioned Officers of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍軍官士官服役條例).
The passage came after 20 hours of clause-by-clause review on Wednesday and yesterday amid protests by veterans opposing reform outside.
Military personnel who have served for at least 20 years would be entitled to a monthly pension that is 55 percent of two times their salary and the percentage would increase by 2 percent for each additional year of service over 20 years up to a maximum of 90 percent for officers and 95 percent for noncommissioned officers, according to the draft amendments.
The minimum monthly pension for retired military personnel is to be NT$38,990, according to the draft amendments.
Retired military personnel with a monthly pension lower than NT$38,990 — the new pension floor set by the amendments — would not be affected by the cuts.
Toward the end of the initial review, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators raised banners and shouted: “Enact [the draft amendments] for current military personnel first and postpone them for retired military personnel.”
“The Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] caucus has continuously communicated and coordinated [with others] and given in where it can,” DPP caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.
The DPP caucus knows that the KMT caucus wants to create opposition and conflict, but it has nonetheless allowed KMT lawmakers to express their opinions, Ker said.
Some details in the bill might be adjusted, but its general direction has been set, he added.
Interim meetings are to be held to finish the second and third readings of the draft amendments, he said, adding that the procedure would not be rushed to allow the proposed changes to take effect on July 1 as planned.
Veterans’ group 800 Heroes said in a statement last night that the government has completely ignored the wishes of veterans to not retroactively apply pension reform to retirees and has abandoned its promise to them.
The group will end their 444-day protest in their camp outside the legislature to prepare for another long-term fight to oppose the planned pension reform, it said.
Next week, it will convene meetings to decide its next step, which might include more mass protests, it added.
The group will continue to organize frequent protests at different locations to fight for the justice and fairness they deserve, it said.
Additional reporting by Ann Maxon
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
RSS