Legislators criticized the “long-term care insurance” plan yesterday, saying that the wage difference between domestic and foreign caregivers would cause domestic workers to lose their jobs.
The Executive Yuan had said that it commissioned the Council of Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) to draw up a comprehensive proposal to set up an insurance program for long-term care for senior citizens by the end of this year.
About 10 percent of the population is aged 65 or above, but that number will increase to 22 percent in 10 years, said Yang Chih-liang (楊志良), vice president of the Taichung Healthcare and Management University and a participant in drafting the proposal.
At the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee meeting yesterday, lawmakers questioned officials from the CEPD, Ministry of the Interior, Department of Health and Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) about the insurance program.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chiech-ju (陳節如) expressed strong opposition to allowing foreign workers to participate in the program.
“At times of such high unemployment, the government should ban foreign workers [from the program] and help domestic workers find jobs,” she said.
DPP Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) urged government officials to evaluate the plan based on its impact on female workers. Because long-term caregivers are usually women, if the program became institutionalized or profit-oriented, the working conditions of female caregivers could be adversely affected, she said.
CEPD Chairman Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝) said, “[The system] will not leave out domestic workers. Every [worker] will have to be certified and equally skilled, but because domestic workers can speak [Chinese], people will be more willing to use domestic laborers.”
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
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UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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