The National Health Insurance integrated-circuit (IC) card controversy that surfaced on Monday was resolved yesterday after TECO Electric and Machinery agreed to help the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) tide over its IC card contract gap, the bureau said yesterday.
News of the bureau’s predicament emerged earlier this week after it was revealed that the chairman of TECO — to which the bureau contracted out production of the cards for the past six years — is Liu Chao-kai (劉兆凱), the younger brother of Premier Liu Chao-shuan (劉兆玄).
Bureau head Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) said on Monday that in accordance with the Civil Servants’ Conflict of Interest Prevention Act (公務人員利益迴避法), the contract would not be renewed after it expires today.
The decision would have meant that as many as 800,000 people might have to be issued paper insurance cards during the next six months — the time required by the bureau to find a new contractor.
The problem was resolved yesterday after the bureau said in a press conference that TECO had agreed to one of the solutions proposed by the bureau, which was to lend the card-making equipment to the bureau for free until the bureau finds a new contractor, Chu said.
“Blank IC cards will be purchased by the bureau from TECO and [bureau employees] will make the cards themselves. TECO will also provide technical training for handling the machines,” Chu said.
While the bureau had proposed other alternatives, “one of the worst case scenarios would have been for the bureau to discontinue issuing IC cards,” Chu said, adding that all things considered, “the situation turned out to be quite good.”
The BNHI-TECO contract is still good for another 500,000 IC cards, which should give the bureau another four months, Chu said, adding that the bureau hoped to find a new contractor as soon as possible.
In response, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday the premier or his brother should resign to prevent a conflict of interest.
DPP caucus whip Chang Hwa-kuan (張花冠) told a press conference that TECO was “lucky,” as it had won several contracts from the government, including making IC cards for the bureau, a build-operation-transfer contract for renovation work at Wanhua Train Station and a contract to build a wind power station.
Chang said that if TECO were allowed to retain government contracts, the premier should step down.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said that while the Department of Health had already been informed that the bureau might be required to terminate its contract with TECO in April, it only made the matter public on Monday.
“Did the department hide the matter to protect the premier from getting into trouble?” Chen asked.
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
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai