Department of health officials have called upon the public to utilize electronic gadgets and technology to snitch on quacks.
A cellphone with a camera or an inexpensive voice recorder is all a member of the public needs to gather evidence that can result in fines of up to NT$250,000 for those practicing Chinese medicine without a license.
"We need the help of the public because we do not have the funds necessary to devote enough manpower to this issue," said Lin I-hsin (
Only 45 cases of quackery and illegal ads involving Chinese medicine were processed last year, the committee said.
"We know that the extent of the problem is not proportional to the number of cases being prosecuted right now," Lin said. "This is why we need the public to help."
Those wishing to expose a dodgy doctor should obtain a voice recording or a photograph of the unlicensed practitioner while performing medical treatments such as acupuncture or diagnosing a health problem, Lin said.
They can then inform the committee by calling 02-2587-2828 or contact their local Bureau of Health Promotion.
"The identity of those who have provided us with evidence will be kept strictly confidential," said Chu Wen-chieh (
Traditional medicinal practices monitored by the department include prescribing Chinese medicines and performing acupuncture and bone-setting.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
RSS