Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Fu’s Guangfu meeting just a show

Yeh Yu-cheng 葉昱呈

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) organized a meeting at the Dahua Activity Center in Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) to discuss post-disaster reconstruction efforts following the flood caused by the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪).

The meeting — which should have been transparent and open to the public — was kept a secret, and only those friendly to Fu were informed that it was taking place.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Guangfu residents — the actual victims of the disaster — were locked outside.

KMT’s pension moves threaten nation

Taipei Times Editorial

While negotiations on next year’s government budget are stalemated, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has proposed an amendment to suspend reform of the pension system for civil servants, school teachers and military personnel, which would benefit the party, but would be a blow to the government and the nation.

The KMT caucus said that the suspension of the pension reform is its top priority this legislative term, and the KMT convener of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee on Monday initiated a review of the draft amendment of the Act Governing Retirement, Severance and Bereavement Compensation for the Teaching and other Staff Members of Public Schools (公立學校教職員退休資遣撫卹條例), which aims to restore the controversially high payments of civil servants’ pensions.

Past shows risk of borrowed power

Chang Shang-yang 張商陽

After Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman-elect Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) victory in the party’s leadership race, the KMT’s intent to bring in external forces to counter its domestic political rivals became all the more apparent.

There is no shortage of such stories in history. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, militant Wu Sangui (吳三桂) — in seeking revenge for the loss of his concubine after rebels captured Beijing — opened the Shanghai Pass to allow the Qing army to enter. While the Qing forces indeed defeated peasant rebel leader Li Zicheng (李自成), they ultimately destroyed the Ming Dynasty. Wu later rebelled himself, only to be crushed by the Qing army.

Taiwan can help lift US economy

Wang Jiann-chyuan 王健全

US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy serves as an objective and as a tool for him. Its objectives are twofold: first, to ease the US’ debt burden through tariff revenue; second, to provide a tax base for the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” tax cuts.

The execution lies in pressuring other countries to negotiate with the US and make concessions in exchange for tariff reductions. Yet Trump’s tariff policy cannot solve the US’ deeper challenges — widening income inequality, blue-collar workers forced into low-paying jobs after losing manufacturing positions, inflationary pressure and the inability to sustain a long-term confrontation against China.

The US faces several economic problems.

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