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Fighting for abolition of preferential
treatment
By Lin Chia ªL¬¢
Monthly pension payments, national health insurance, an 18 percent interest
rate: Describing this combination as ¡§the best retirement system in the world¡¨
is a misnomer; it is not a retirement system ¡X it is a tool to perpetuate class
differences and oppress the public.
Commodity prices in Taiwan are lower than in Europe or North America. In terms
of purchasing power, monthly retirement payments and national health insurance
make military personnel, civil servants and teachers in Taiwan some of the most
privileged groups in the world. The 18 percent interest rate is worth perhaps
another NT$30,000 extra every month, which means a retired soldier, civil
servant or teacher can earn anything from NT$60,000 to more than NT$100,000 per
month. This is not retirement, it is an extortion racket.
A retired couple who bought their home a long time ago, whose children are now
adults, and who can use the national health insurance in case of illness will
not spend more than NT$20,000 to NT$30,000 a month on food, and pocket the
remaining money. The 18 percent interest and the remaining retirement money will
of course go to their children and grandchildren. That is why the children of
military personnel, civil servants and teachers can study abroad, travel,
accumulate wealth and buy a second home, all without having to work.
These pensioners live a leisurely life aimed at pursuing their own and their
children and grandchildren¡¦s interests. They have more time, energy and
perseverance than anyone else when it comes to protecting the Chinese
Nationalist Party¡¦s (KMT) policies, economic interests and ideology.
It is hardly surprising that they are a willing part of the political apparatus
that perpetuates the status of the KMT elite and its rule over Taiwan.
What is the difference between the people living off the 18 percent interest
rate and the comfortable life that makes possible and the Mongolian rulers who
were fed by the Chinese they also ruled?
We should feel sorry for all those poor people whose parents are not in the
military or work as civil servants or teachers. Even if they¡¦ve taken out a
student loan to finish their university studies, they are still unlikely to earn
more than NT$30,000 per month. They do not own their homes and although they
earn less than half of what a retired soldier, civil servant or teacher
receives, they have to pay rent and are expected to get married, have children
and raise a family. Such people have problems making it from one day to the next
and of course they have no time to pay attention to the public interest or
politics. They must accept that they are typical examples of a ruled and
oppressed class.
The way in which the KMT elite uses the perks it gives to military personnel,
civil servants and teachers to economically suppress Taiwanese can only be
described as the oppression of a whole nation. The proportion of ¡¥Mainlanders¡¨
that enjoy the 18 percent preferential interest rate is many times larger than
the proportion of such people in the Hoklo, Hakka or Aboriginal ethnic groups.
That is why the 18 percent preferential interest rate, in addition to
consolidating the perpetuation of the ruling class, is also a way for that class
and the KMT¡¦s ruling clique to oppress everyone else.
The 18 percent interest rate is the perfect reason for a revolution. It is also
the perfect reason to hold a referendum.
If the Democratic Progressive Party continues to do no more than talk about the
¡§reform¡¨ of this system and pretends not to hear calls for abolition of the
preferential interest rate, that would be reason enough to establish a new
pro-Taiwan political party.
Lin Chia is an independent commentator.
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