Hundreds of veterans yesterday rallied outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to protest proposed pension cuts, vowing to stage daily marches for the next three months if the government does not abandon its plans.
An estimated 1,500 people participated in the demonstration, called “Marching for the Rights of 800 Heroes,” including military veterans and members of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) branch.
“800 Heroes” refers to the Chinese soldiers who defended the Sihang Warehouse against Japanese troops in October and November 1937 in the Battle of Shanghai. The battle is considered one of the most heroic and symbolic events in the Republic of China (ROC) Army’s history.
Photo: CNA
“The troops are the first ones the government calls to deal with whatever problems it has and the first to get screwed when it has nothing better to do,” said retired army lieutenant general Wu Chi-liang (吳其樑), who was named the operational commander of the protest.
Unless the government abandons its pension restructuring plans, the protesters will demonstrate daily for three months, Wu said.
The protesters are prepared to offer protracted resistance if the government does not relent after three months, Wu said, without elaborating.
KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) appeared at the demonstration to show his support, saying the demonstration is the veterans’ last resort as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government forces its “unconstitutional” pension bill through the legislature.
Sources said the veterans plan to maintain a continuous protest by pitching tents outside the legislature and marching around the legislature’s premises every day between 11am and 4:30pm.
Retired army lieutenant general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), who stirred up controversy late last year when he attended a state ceremony in Beijing, compared the pension plan to the “Cultural Revolution,” and said the DPP should not “provoke” service members and veterans by “testing our endurance.”
Calling the protest “absurd,” DPP Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) wrote on Facebook: “The 800 Heroes sacrificed themselves for the survival of the nation, whereas those honorless retired generals want to sacrifice the nation’s finances to line their own pockets.”
“Those people who went to China to play golf with People’s Liberation Army [PLA] officers and chant slogans, such as ‘the PLA and the ROC armed forces are both Chinese armies’ ... did an injustice to their comrades in uniform and Taiwanese taxpayers. Their shamelessness knows no bounds,” Wang said.
The Ministry of National Defense issued a statement calling for calm, saying it is still in the process of drafting pension reform plans for the military and that it welcomes the opinions and demands of active and retired troops.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu
RSS