Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has cancelled a trip to Australia in order to deal with a crisis that erupted after city hospitals turned away a critically injured child.
\n"I think at this moment it is best to stay in the country to clear things up," Ma told reporters yesterday.
\n"It's a shame to the capital that the hospitals didn't do everything in their power to treat the girl," he said.
\nMa decided to cancel the visit late Friday after a hospital allegedly admitted to sending the child away despite having a vacancy in its intensive care unit.
\nMa had postponed the Australian trip scheduled for Thursday by two days amid mounting criticism over his handling of the issue.
\nHe had also planned to visit Thailand and make a transit stop in Hong Kong.
\nMa, who has been tipped to run for president in 2008, has seen his popularity hit a record low in several surveys this week after the incident provoked a public outcry over the poor state of Taipei's health-care system.
\nMeanwhile, the Municipal Jen Ai Hospital did not try its best to help, Taipei Deputy Mayor Yeh Chin-chuan (
PHOTO: CNA
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