The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) might only be able to pay part of its workers’ salaries this month due to lackluster fundraising, according to high-ranking party officials.
The KMT has been dogged by a salary conundrum after its bank accounts were frozen as part of an ongoing investigation into the source of its assets by the Executive Yuan’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee, despite managing to pay off its staff’s overdue wages for September and last month using loans taken out by KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), with party officials acknowledging that they might only be able to pay half of this month’s salaries in a worst-case scenario.
Hung late last month borrowed NT$90 million (US$2.8 million at the current exchange rate) to pay workers’ salaries amid a threat by the KMT’s union to stage a protest should the party fail to address the issue.
The loans came from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co and Foxconn chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) and another businessman, who asked to remain anonymous.
The KMT last month launched two fundraising programs in an attempt to assuage its financial straits, but a source familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the amount has raised so far has fallen far short of expectations.
One fundraising drive encourages KMT members to pay a “special party fee” of at least NT$2,000, while the other asks members of the public to donate NT$1,000.
The two programs have generated only NT$10 million and NT$20 million respectively, the source said.
Asked about the possibility of the KMT taking out more loans, one KMT member, who also requested anonymity, said borrowing money has always been a contentious issue in the party, particularly as it has yet to pay off the loans taken out by Hung.
KMT Administration and Management Committee director Chiu Da-chan (邱大展) on Saturday said that the funds raised from the “special party fee” program are insufficient to pay about NT$45 million in party workers’ salaries for this month.
However, the party recently laid out a plan to reduce its workforce, which it sent to the committee with a request for access to a portion of the KMT’s frozen funds to be able to pay the reduced personnel, Chiu said.
The KMT recently also submitted to the Taipei Department of Labor an outline of its plans for employee dismissals, with negotiations with employees scheduled to begin on Wednesday, he added.
According to the plan, 433 staff, or about 58 percent, could face dismissal prior to the Lunar New Year, Chiu said, but added that the party would be unable to execute the plan unless it manages to come up with between NT$150 million and NT$180 million to cover severance payments and retirement packages.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS