Teachers Protest Government Pension Plan
Teachers are protesting a government pension plan they say doesn't do enough to protect their retirements.
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00:00It's a tense moment outside the cabinet building on a humid August morning.
00:08For two days, the chair of the National Teachers' Union has been on hunger strike over a government
00:12pension plan that has teachers worried about their retirements.
00:15Today, teachers from across the country have gathered in solidarity in the late summer
00:19heat.
00:20But once they've shouted their slogans and waved their banners, the question is, will
00:24anyone hear their demands?
00:26As they stand waiting, a speaker reminds everyone why they're here.
00:29We're in favor of following the Civil Servant Ministry's recommendation of a 10-year injection
00:34amounting to $992 million U.S. dollars into the teacher pension fund.
00:39What the government's offered is $607 million U.S. dollars over 20 years.
00:44While this will mean less short-term spending, the protesters say spending more now will
00:48actually save the government in the long run.
00:51They say the government plan makes little sense.
00:53The cabinet's expected to make a final decision sometime today.
01:06The assembled teachers and their supporters get down on the baking pavement.
01:10This has turned into a sit-in.
01:11One protester explains who exactly they're waiting for.
01:29Finally the tension breaks.
01:35A police officer announces that this is an illegal assembly and warns the protesters
01:39to leave peacefully.
01:41No one is coming out to talk with the protesters.
01:44Other officers close in on the seated group while union leaders decide what to do next.
02:04In the end, the protesters pack up their banners and signs and leave.
02:08But they say this is just the start of their movement.
02:11With no signs of either side backing down, this could soon become a headache for Taiwan's
02:15new government.
02:16Devin Tsai and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.