The Executive Yuan yesterday proposed an amendment to the Red Cross Society Act of the Republic of China (中華民國紅十字會法), with Deputy Minister of the Interior Lin Tzu-ling (林慈玲) saying that the law could be changed, but should not be abolished.
New Power Party and Democratic Progressive Party legislators proposed that the act be abolished, saying they consider it to be a remnant of the authoritarian era, granting special privileges to organization that had — until a legislative amendment in 2000 — been a “government facility” according to the regulations.
Lin said in a news conference after the Cabinet’s weekly meeting yesterday that the Red Cross Society has made great contributions in its special missions, such as rescuing and nursing wounded soldiers during wartime and participating in disaster-relief activities during peacetime.
The Red Cross Society law has its raison d’etre, but it should also be subject to review, Lin said.
According to the existing act, the president of the organization is elected by the group’s national member representatives’ congress with a term of four years and can be re-elected indefinitely.
Lin said the Ministry of the Interior has proposed an amendment to the act to impose a two-term limit.
Regulations to have the government appoint officials from finance, audit and budget, accounting and statistics agencies as the organization’s supervisors would also be scrapped, Lin said.
While the Red Cross Society has been criticized over exemptions from regulations governing donations, Lin said that the group has always adhered to the Charity Donations Destined for Social Welfare Funds Implementation Regulations (公益勸募條例), which all charity organizations are subject to.
In a bid to alleviate concerns, the proposed amendment would stipulate that the organization’s donation soliciting activities would have to conform to the existing regulations, Lin said.
The group would have to gain approval from the government before asking for donations, she added.
“However, since the Red Cross Society has special missions, the proposed rule changes would allow it to conduct donation-soliciting activities in emergency situations without prior government approval, provided that it applies for government acknowledgment within five days of the launch of its activities,” the deputy minister said.
Lin said that the Red Cross Society has had its financial statements certified by accountants since 2011.
The proposed amendment would require the group to certify financial statements and submit them to the government for reference purposes, she added.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS