Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) said yesterday that it has not been decided how to exclude the rich from a much--deliberated proposal to raise welfare pensions for senior farmers.
Chen said at a question-and-answer session at the legislature that the council is still considering whether to implement the exclusion based on income or real--estate value.
The proposal by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has proceeded to a second reading, is for an additional NT$1,000 (US$33) on top of the current pension of NT$6,000 a month for each farmer. The Executive Yuan’s version of the bill was reported to exclude rich farmers.
Legislators from both the ruling and opposition parties questioned Chen on the proposal.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) said he was opposed to the exclusion, arguing that the rich already pay income and luxury taxes.
Civil service pay raises did not consider the government’s finances, so why should it be different when it comes to farmers’ pensions, DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) asked.
“The national pension and veterans’ pensions, for example, both exclude the rich. [To exclude] based on income or real-estate value is still under consideration,” Chen said in response to the question.
He also cited a poll that showed 47 percent of farmers were in favor of an exclusion, compared with 33 percent against.
Chen said last week that a decision is expected within a month.
Three KMT lawmakers proposed in the session to lift senior farmers’ pensions from NT$6,000 to NT$8,000 a month. The proposal was later passed.
Former Department of Health minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) accused both the KMT and the DPP of proposing the pension increase to attract votes in January’s elections.
“Where will the money come from? How can political parties only give promises, but not give money and increase the public debt?” he asked in an article he penned to Chinese-language media.
Yaung said the DPP, which has made a campaign ad on the issue, should explain how it would conjure up the NT$8.2 billion extra cost of the subsidy.
“Otherwise, it is an irresponsible party that has proposed an irresponsible act,” he said.
He also said the KMT was no better because it dared not tell the public the truth behind this election promise.
Lin Wan-yi (林萬億), a social work professor at National Taiwan University and a former DPP minister without portfolio, said that Taiwan’s agricultural problems, which include illegal seizures of farmland, imbalance of production and sales, and aging farmers, could not be solved by raising pensions.
He argued that senior farmers should be taken care of financially by a national pension for the elderly, which would be a more sustainable social welfare system.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS