Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
The maternity leave could be taken by either the mother or the father, Ma said in Changhua, adding that unemployed parents would receive a NT$5,000 child care subsidy every month for two years.
"Men have long been the decision-makers in the country and tended to draft policies from a male perspective," Ma said.
PHOTO: CNA
"The KMT will take women's views into consideration when drafting policies after we regain power," he said.
Ma condemned President Chen Shui-bian (
Ma said he would focus on fighting the top three threats against women in Taiwan: domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual harassment.
A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Changhua County female councilors, however, staged a protest against Ma's visit, saying he was not qualified to discuss women's policies.
Ignoring the protest, Ma said he would tackle violence against women and children by increasing prison terms by as much as 50 percent and implementing stricter standards on granting parole for sex offenders.
He also said he would push for the establishment of a "family law" and improving professional standards in the handling of family matters in court.
If elected, Ma said he would implement all the provisions in the Gender Equality Employment Law (
To create a friendlier environment for career women, Ma said his administration would provide employment subsidies for women to encourage participation in the job market, which could create more than 100,000 jobs over the next four years.
Ma also promised to allocate NT$1 billion (US$30 million) annually and provide each qualified candidate with a NT$1 million loan with zero-interest to help women start their own business.
The right to work in a friendly and fair environment should also be extended to foreign brides, Ma said, pledging to relax limits on the employment of foreign brides and crack down on discrimination or inhumane treatment.
To protect the rights of female caregivers or housekeepers, the KMT presidential candidate also proposed establishing a "caregiver service law" (家事服務法) that would give a clearer definition of terms of employment.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS