The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a draft bill that opens the door for people with HIV or AIDS to receive state-funded treatment for drug addiction.
The proposal, which calls for free treatment for drug addicts who are also HIV/AIDS carriers and drug users with mental illnesses, was drafted by the Ministry of Justice and approved by the Judiciary Committee. Passage of the bill would mean that only drug addicts who are also SARS patients would be excluded from taking part in the nation's free addiction treatment program.
Representatives from the ministry told the Judicial Committee yesterday that drug addiction is a major conduit of HIV/AIDS transmissions, with two out of every three new HIV carriers being intravenous drug users. As such, they said, the government should allow HIV/AIDS carriers to receive free addiction treatment.
The Narcotics Endangerment Prevention Act (
Under the law, those arrested for use of "class one" drugs such as heroin and cocaine, or "class two" drugs such as amphetamines and marijuana, must undergo addiction treatment at drug abstention and treatment centers for a maximum of one month.
Those who still show signs of addiction after one month of treatment must undergo a second course of treatment, lasting up to one year.
The law stipulates that addicts who have received treatment but are arrested again for drug use will be charged.
The ministry last year opened four drug abstention and treatment centers in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Taitung.
The ministry's records show that more than 3,500 people are receiving treatment for drug addiction nationwide.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
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