Mon, Feb 03, 2025 page3

• KMT to reverse pension reform, push recall act

  • By William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNA
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  The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at the legislature’s next session is likely to prioritize bills related to the stemming of recall drives against it and the cutting of pensions for public sector, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported yesterday.

  Fearing that the major recall drive would lead to a legislative reshuffle — and effectively cause next year’s local elections to start early — the KMT is planning to push through amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), it wrote.

  The amendment, which has been criticized by the Central Election Commission, stipulates that an elected official may only be recalled if the number of recall votes exceeds the number of votes with which they were originally elected.

  

  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Lin Szu-ming, left, and Wang Hong-wei, right, speak to reporters in front of Taipei City Police Department’s Zhongzheng First Precinct on Jan. 23.

  Photo: CNA

  Another proposed amendment would freeze the decrease in the income replacement ratio for retired teachers and government workers.

  Public service groups have called for the government to “immediately stop cutting pensions for public service employees and adjust the income replacement rate to be equal to that of police and firefighters.”

  KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has promised to list a proposed amendment to the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) as a priority bill in the next session.

  However, many younger KMT supporters said that stopping pension reform would negatively impact public sector employees, leading some to speculate that the KMT might table the bill for further discussion.

  Fu, who has overseen several contentious amendments pushed through by the KMT, is to continue as caucus whip at the next session. However, many believe that he would be replaced by KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇).

  KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) is likely to assume the role of caucus deputy secretary-general under Wang.

  Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) has expressed support for ending cuts to public sector pensions, saying that pension reforms introduced by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was “unfair and violated the principle of protecting public trust.”

  KMT supporters in different constituencies have expressed different opinions on the pension issue, leading to split opinions within the party, with some calling it a “very serious issue that requires careful discussion.”

  As for the recall drive, the KMT caucus has said that it was DPP-led — despite being initiated by a civic group — citing comments from DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), who has “repeatedly put forward demands for a recall to counter the opposition blue and white camps.”

  The KMT would fight back with all its might by “recalling to counter recalls,” it added.

  “The DPP wants to poach local representatives from the blue camp to influence next year’s local elections, which is equivalent to starting the elections early,” it said.

  The KMT would not rule out introducing “political bills” at a critical moment, one KMT member said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

  For example, the KMT could launch a referendum against the abolition of the death penalty, or target some DPP legislators for recall, they said.

  “There are many strategies that can be adopted, and I believe that the DPP legislators who have been targeted have already felt that the situation is not good for them,” they added.
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