DPP proposal cuts rate to 9 percent after one year, zero after two

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/23
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A long-criticized 18-percent preferential deposit interest rate on savings for

retired civil servants will be phased out after two years, according to a ruling party proposal approved by the Legislative Yuan Friday.

The rate has come under fire for many years as it was seen as an unfair benefit for retired government employees, military personnel and teachers, and out of reach for most other working Taiwanese.

A voting battle Friday pitched the ruling Democratic Progressive Party proposal for a two-year phase-out against the opposition Kuomintang version, which would have gradually cut the interest rate by 3 percent at a time over a period of six years.

As the DPP holds an absolute majority, its proposal passed the second reading, which means that the interest rate will be cut by half to 9 percent after the first year and to 0 percent following the second year.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/23
By: Claudia Liu and Lilian Wu

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) The government is mulling the idea of issuing new ID cards containing a chip, and

will solicit public views through seminars, workshops and public opinion polls, the Ministry of the Interior said Friday.

Chang Wan-yi (張琬宜), director of the Department of Household Registration, said it has worked out a draft proposal on the new card, and will communicate fully with the public on the issue.

Chang said the current ID cards have been in use for many years, and the appearances of the holders have changed with the passage of time.

This, coupled with the increasing number of forged or counterfeit ID card cases, has made it necessary and an urgent task to replace the current ID cards, Chang said.    [FULL  STORY]

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 24, 2017
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter

A man who on Thursday allegedly shot three people dead before turning the gun on himself died from

his injuries yesterday, police said.

The shooting in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) was the result of a dispute between rival gambling rings, police said.

Taoyuan police identified the alleged killer as Chang Chun-hao (張峻豪), 20, who they said shot himself in the head with a handgun when cornered in an alley after trying to escape from the crime scene.

The killings were carried out execution-style, with Chang shooting the three people in the head on the eighth floor of an office building, Jhongli Police Precinct chief investigator Hsu Mu-sheng (許木生) said.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: June 23, 2017
By: The China Post and CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Legislative Yuan gave the second reading to a bill on pension reform that would

phase out the preferential interest rate in two years.

If the bill passes third reading, the rate would be lowered to 9 percent in the first year and drop to zero in the second year for those who withdraw their pension monthly. For those who choose to claim their pension in one lump sum, the interest rate would be cut to 12 percent in the first year and further reduced by 2 percent every other year until it drops to 6 percent in the seventh year.

However, public sector workers receiving monthly pensions of less NT$32,160 would be able to retain an 18 percent preferential interest rate, according to the bill.

According to the government’s estimation, the new policy will help save NT$28.5 billion in pension payment in 50 years.    [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/22
By: Wu Jui-chi, Chiu Chun-chin and S.C. Chang

Taipei, June 22 (CNA) Police found the bodies of three men and one woman at an address in Zhongli

District, Taoyuan City on Thursday night, officers said.

Taoyuan Fire Department officials said they received reports about gunshots at 9:08 p.m. and when police and rescuers rushed to the scene they found two men and one woman dead from gunshot wounds on the eighth floor. A third man, believed to be the gunman, was found outside the building in a pool of blood from what appeared to be a head wound and holding a gun.

Initial investigation identified the three dead as two men, aged 30 and 20, and a 20-year-old woman. The suspect, who is in a critical condition, is 25 years of age.

Police said they were continuing to investigate.    [SOURCE]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2017/06/22
By: Lo Kuang-jen and Y.F. Low

Taipei, June 22 (CNA) Two MIM-23 Hawk missiles veered off course during a military exercise in the

southern Taiwan county of Pingtung Thursday, but there were no reported casualties, according to the Air Force.

The two missiles were fired at around 8 a.m. Thursday as part of an annual precision weapon firing drill conducted jointly by the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Due to fuel combustion problems, the missiles veered off course shortly after being launched and exploded within the restricted area, the Air Force said.

It said the purpose of the drill was to examine the results of training for military troops, and the military will review the errors and make improvements.    [SOURCE]

The China Post
Date: June 22, 2017
By: CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Six members of a Taiwanese tourist group were injured in western China’s Xinjiang

region on Thursday when their tour bus ran off the road, Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau said that day.

The bus was carrying 19 people and traveling near the town of Qiaku’ertu when the accident occurred at 4:48 p.m., according to the bureau.

The six injured passengers, aged between 57 and 69 years old, were taken to local hospitals for treatment for their injuries which included broken bones, concussion and bruises, but are reportedly not life-threatening.

Three of the passengers were still being treated in hospital as of Thursday night. Another two will return to Taiwan for treatment on Friday and another plans to rejoin the tour group, according to Life Tour, the travel agency which organized the tour.
[FULL  STORY]

A local historian sheds light on a history of disenfranchisement.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/06/22
By: James Baron

When Taiwan’s former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) attended the inauguration of his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela in July 2014, cross-Strait relations had never been better.

“Ma invited everyone in the Chinese community,” Juan Tam (譚堅) told me on my visit to the isthmus just two weeks after Ma had been there. This was a big change, said Tam, who is secretary of Panama’s National Ethnic Chinese Council. “Normally, the other side – the mainlanders – just wouldn’t go. There had always been infighting between the two sides, but for the first time this stopped and everyone showed up.”

Pressed for time en route to the Nicaragua Liberation Day celebrations in Managua, I had a half-day in Panama. Through some online wangling, I had procured Tam’s contact details and got in touch. He had kindly agreed to show me around for the day, and I couldn’t have hoped for a more perspicacious insight into the complexities of the Chinese diaspora in Panama.    [FULL  STORY]