Interior Minister Huang Chu-wen (
The establishment of the bureau in Taichung City (
After four year's of procrastination, the legal framework detailing the organization of the Bureau of Child Welfare finally passed in the last legislative session in June of this year.
"It is an advance in Taiwan's social welfare system," Huang said.
In order to set up a progressive welfare system, he said, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) would also push for a department of social welfare -- a central government-led department solely responsible for welfare implementation.
The chief of the new welfare organization is Liu Bang-fu (
Responding to the concerns of lawmakers, Huang Chu-wen assured then he would provide a plan for the care of children orphaned by the 921 earthquake.
According to statistics from the MOI, 135 children were orphaned as a result of the quake.
Problems surfaced when relatives of these children made competing claims for the custody of the children.
Many suspect that this was not unrelated to the government subsidy of NT$30,000 to NT$40,000 per month for the custodians of the orphans.
Huang said the MOI will make an effort to amend Article 1094 of the Civil Law to ensure the best custodians for the children are chosen.
A trust fund will also be set up to take care of the children until they reach adulthood.
DPP Legislator Lai Ching-lin (
He recommended that the bureau first amend the existing child and juvenile welfare-related laws.
In terms of human rights and welfare principles, there is a gap between these laws and those set by the UN's Children's Rights Convention.
Some of the existing laws in Taiwan relating to children are still based on the perspective of adults, Lai said.
Secondly, Lai said, the bureau should open a national child welfare conference to integrate social resources for children and should consider increasing the budget for child welfare.
The budget for child welfare until the end of 2000 is approximately NT$1.3 billion. This means that for the 3.83 million children in Taiwan, each is entitled to only NT$339 of welfare spending in the coming year, Lai said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
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