A dozen social welfare groups staged a demonstration in Taipei yesterday, saying the government owed them millions of NT dollars, before filing a complaint with the Control Yuan.
“The government has outsourced social welfare programs or promised financial aid to social welfare groups across the country. However, the government has either delayed payments or simply owes the money,” League of Social Welfare Organizations in Taiwan secretary-general Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) told those demonstrating outside the Control Yuan.
Wang went on to say that in most cases, social welfare groups would apply for financial aid from the central government through local governments, then receive the money from the local governments after the central government allocated the requested money.
“However, instead of giving the money to the social welfare groups that requested it, local governments often use the money for their own construction projects,” Wang said.
“As far as I know, the Taichung County Government already owes more than NT$10 million [US$318,000] to social welfare groups — some payments have been delayed for two to three years already,” said Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲), secretary-general of the Alliance for Handicapped People.
Women’s Rescue Foundation executive director Cynthia Kao (高小晴) complained about the outsourcing of welfare projects.
“Central or local governments quite often delay payments to social welfare groups for outsourced projects, and sometimes they even try to bargain,” Kao said.
Kao said that it is normal for government officials to ask for a discount of around 10 percent from the price already agreed upon before signing the contract.
“Of course the government is able to keep promising more social welfare, because it’s often the social workers from social welfare groups that have to put their own money into executing the government’s projects,” said Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華), secretary-general of the Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare.
After a brief press conference and demonstration, the groups’ representatives walked into the Control Yuan to submit their complaints and push for an investigation.
Unexpectedly walking into Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien right after entering the building, the groups’ request was accepted and an investigation was promised.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS