Pension reform is an issue that transcends the blue-green political divide, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, calling for compromise and public support for the government’s “moderate and gradual reform plan.”
Tsai made the remarks in her opening speech at the government’s first national affairs conference on pension reform, which took place at the Presidential Office Building from 9am to 7pm against the backdrop of a large-scale demonstration by public-sector workers outside.
Tsai said that the same month four years ago, and at the same place, then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) expressed to the public the imperativeness of pension reform.
Photo: CNA
“Ma said our pension system involves both self-help and mutual help. He said it is not ‘your pension’ or ‘my pension,’ but rather ‘our pensions’ and ‘the pensions of our children and grandchildren,’ adding that it is a system that ‘must not and will not become insolvent,’” Tsai said.
Tsai said this shows that pension reform is not a political issue, but rather something a national leader, regardless of their political party, must carry out for the sake of the long-term stability of the nation.
Unfortunately, the Ma administration’s attempts at pension reform failed, Tsai said, adding that the nation cannot withstand another failure or delays, as “reform will only become more painful as time progresses.”
Ma in 2009 established a pension reform task force, which held a total of 124 forums nationwide to solicit public opinions before the government rolled out a draft plan spearheaded by then-Examination Yuan president John Kuan (關中) in January 2013.
However, the plan was stalled at the legislature, despite it being dominated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) at the time, reportedly due to political concerns about the 2014 nine-in-one elections.
Tsai said her government’s draft reform plan seeks to gradually progress toward its goals, instead of meeting them in one sitting, in a bid to minimize its potential effects on the public.
“I know there are some protesters outside the Presidential Office [Building]. Their grievance is understandable, because their interests might be affected... However, only a sustainable pension system can make sure all of you receive pension payments, including your next generation,” Tsai said.
Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), who serves as convener of the Presidential Office’s pension reform committee, said the situation facing the nation’s pension system is so dire that “people will regret it tomorrow if we do not reform it today.”
“Pension reform is a long journey and today’s national affairs conference is only the beginning rather than the end. The conclusions made today are to be referred to the Examination Yuan and the Executive Yuan for consideration in their drafting of a bill, which will then be sent to the legislature for review,” Chen said.
The reform plan aims at keeping the pension systems alive for another 25 to 30 years, said Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億), who is deputy convener and executive director of the committee.
Lin said that following the introduction of the plan, the government will discuss in the next stage the feasibility of combining the nation’s various pension funds, such as setting up a one-for-all pension scheme, and establish a supervisory mechanism to re-evaluate pension funds every five to 10 years.
The draft reform plan is expected to delay estimations for bankruptcy of the Labor Insurance Fund by nine years to 2036, the public-school teachers’ pension fund by 12 years to 2043 and the Public Service Pension Fund by 14 years to 2044, the government said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS