Nursing mothers in Taipei City will no longer need to scramble to find a place to breastfeed their babies starting Thursday after the Public Breastfeeding Regulation (公共場所母乳哺育自治條例) takes effect, but advocates yesterday said the central government must quickly follow suit in protecting the rights of mothers to breastfeed in public nationwide.
The new regulation stipulates that nursing mothers are allowed to breastfeed in all public spaces without having to go to a designated room. Anyone who tries to prevent a nursing mother from breastfeeding in public will be subjected to a fine of between NT$5,000 and NT$30,000.
“We are happy to have Taipei City's support and we urge the central government to enact a national law so that nursing mothers across Taiwan can enjoy the same rights and protections,” said Lin Chun-yi (林君怡), president of the Breastfeeding Association of Taiwan.
Lin said that although many public spaces, such as train and metro stations, rest stops and companies have designated breastfeeding rooms, “there are simply not enough because babies, especially newborns, need feeding all the time.”
She acknowledged that some mothers might be too embarrassed to bare their breasts in public and others shy away from public breastfeeding concerned over how their husbands might react.
“There are many techniques and even clothes or wraps that mothers can use without fully exposing themselves so others cannot tell when they are breastfeeding,” she added.
A draft of the regulation has been submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review.
Democratic Progressive Party Lawmaker Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) who sits on the Sanitation, Environment and Social Welfare Committee said Department of Health officials and a few committee members will discuss the draft next week to hash out a preliminary consensus before bringing it to the committee for a formal review.
Lee Pei-chun (李霈君), a 31 year-old mother said she does not mind breastfeeding her baby in public but “the real issue is not the absences of a national law,” she said. “It's the lack of public awareness that breastfeeding on the streets is as normal as eating a bowl of noodles.”
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if the next president of that country decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today. “We would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said during a legislative hearing. At the same time, Taiwan is paying close attention to the Central American region as a whole, in the wake of a visit there earlier this year by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lin said. Rubio visited Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, during which he
RSS