The head of the Veterans Affairs Commission denied yesterday that the commission, on orders from the Executive Yuan, has told retired servicemen to participate in the March 20 referendum.
Commission chairman Teng Tsu-lin (
Teng also denied that the commission has used administrative resources to drum up support for President Chen Shui-bian's (
Teng made the remarks in response to questions raised by People First Party (PFP) legislators Chin Hui-chu (
The lawmakers also expressed concern that elderly veterans would have trouble casting three ballots without some confusion.
Teng said that he is confident that the veterans, despite being elderly, will have no problems and will choose wisely.
"Our veterans have a great deal of common sense and they are well informed from watching TV and reading newspapers," Teng said.
In related news, Teng told the committee that the government is not suspending the monthly pensions of veterans who have settled in China.
He said the government is continuing to pay pensions to the 5,514 veterans who are now living in China but have not applied for resident status or a passport from the PRC.
The Examination Yuan recently passed a regulation stipulating that retired servicemen, civil servants and school teachers will have to receive their retirement pensions in one lump sum rather than in monthly payments if they reside in China.
If they don't apply for a lump-sum payment, they may risk having their pensions withheld.
The commission has assigned personnel to China on a yearly basis to check whether veterans residing there have received ID cards issued by Beijing, Teng said.
He added that commission officials had been relieved to find that none of veteran s in China had accepted Chinese identification papers.
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The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final