The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday said it has proposed an amendment to the Medical Act (醫療法) to bar shareholding company representatives from their affiliated medical foundations’ boards.
“The proposal was made to prevent medical foundations from becoming affiliated companies’ holdings centers,” Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said.
The proposed amendment is aimed at improving regulations on medical corporations for better organizational management, reducing administrative and financial disturbance and contributing to society, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator and physician Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said.
Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation chief executive Joanne Liu (劉淑瓊) said hospitals are allowed to make a profit, but it is important that they are self-disciplined and not view making a profit as their first priority.
More than a dozen physicians at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in June last year resigned en masse, which highlighted management problems on the hospital’s board.
Ministry Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said the proposed amendment is listed as a priority bill in this legislative session, adding that if it is passed, Formosa Plastics Group shareholders that represent the companies must withdraw from the hospital’s board.
Chen said that in addition to regulating the composition of medical corporations’ boards and achieving better public welfare, the proposed amendment would also stipulate that hospitals must allocate 20 percent of their income surplus to public welfare and 5 percent to improving their employees’ salaries or recruiting more personnel.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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