Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday received more than 30 opposition legislators who brought with them more than 1.31 million signatures they collected in a campaign against high tuition, health insurance premium increases and rising unemployment.
The KMT and PFP legislators refused to listen to briefings being given by Cabinet officials during the meeting. They left 30 minutes after delivering the petition, accusing the Executive Yuan of ignoring the will of the great majority of the people.
Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i (
Yu said that the Cabinet, in a manner of "sincerity and rational communication," wanted to take the chance to explain to the legislators so as to establish positive exchanges with them.
Tseng Yung-chuan (
"The more than 1,314,000 signatures we brought here today against the `three increases' reflects the mainstream view of the people and their indignation," Tseng said.
Chen Chien-jen then told the legislators that Taiwan's health insurance system is "world-class" system. Some legislators got up to leave upon hearing the words, saying that they had come "to petition, not to listen to a briefing."
In the awkward atmosphere, Yu interceded and persuaded them to return to their seats and listen to briefings by the education minister, the CEPD vice chairman and the vice premier on the issues of high tuition and high unemployment.
Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進), KMT party whip in the Legislature, said that from listening to the briefings by the Cabinet officials, one might think the three problems do not exist in Taiwan, lamenting that the voices of the more than 1.31 million signatures had apparently fallen on deaf ears.
Lee then led the legislators away, saying that if the ruling party was not going to show them any substance, or "beef," in dealing with the three issues, then the meeting "had better end here."
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese