A lawmaker and non-governmental organizations (NGO) accused the government yesterday of unfairly subsidizing the Red Cross of Taiwan while leaving other organizations in financial difficulty.
Since 1984, the government has given the Red Cross subsidies totalling more than NT$500 million (US$15.1 million).
Many NGOs claim this is unfair.
The Red Cross "should not be the only privileged one, as each social group is contributing in its own way," said Chang Yu-chin (張玉琴), secretary-general of the Alliance for Old People's Welfare Promotion. "The government has to be fair."
"If a social group which receives [NT$]700 million in donations annually needs government subsidies, how can the other social groups survive?" Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) asked.
The Red Cross' financial report showed that it received donations worth more than NT$248 million in 2004, a figure that leaped to NT$710 million the following year.
On the other hand, the alliance received only NT$7 million in government subsidy for seven projects they completed for the Ministry of Interior last year, Chang said.
To break the monopoly, the lawmaker and NGO leaders asked the government to distribute the money equallyto all social groups.
"Subsidies should be available to all social groups," said Wu Tung-ju (吳東儒), secretary-general of the Alliance for Handicapped People.
The Red Cross, however, saw things differently.
"We're not a regular social group ... we're not competing with them," said Lin Hsiu-fen (林秀芬), a Red Cross official.
She said the Red Cross has a special status and is neither a governmental organization nor a standard NGO.
While the Geneva Convention requires signatory governments to help maintain Red Cross organizations in their countries, "we're not entitled to receive the 30 million government budget for social groups," she said. "We're also the only NGO that has government representatives serving on the board of directors."
Calling the Red Cross the only international disaster relief organization in Taiwan, Vice Minister of the Interior Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) yesterday said her ministry was obligated by domestic law to subsidize the organization.
Additional reporting by Max Hirsch
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost