The Legislative Yuan is conducting a line-by-line review of the proposed indigenous peoples health act.
As a social worker carrying out services in indigenous communities, I can tell you that there is an overall shortage of healthcare resources in those communities. This is because the existing healthcare and medical policy is lacking an understanding of indigenous peoples’ everyday environment, as well as failing to address the different needs of indigenous people.
Ministry of the Interior data show that the average life expectancy of indigenous people in 2021 was 6.94 years shorter than the rest of the population of Taiwan. The gap is due to various factors.
For one, indigenous people have experienced misunderstandings or even discrimination from some healthcare workers due to their lifestyle and habits. More often than not, there are also conflicts in patient-physician relationships because of the language barrier, and that is where social workers need to intervene to act as a cultural interpreter and help integrate resources.
In the face of this predicament, the passing of the indigenous peoples health act should be able to assist the government in addressing the uneven distribution of healthcare resources via research on indigenous culture, and the integration of resources and social campaigns.
Only in this way can the gap between average life expectancy of indigenous people and the general population be shortened.
From the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to the White Paper on Health and Welfare Policy and the Indigenous Peoples Chapter (衛生福利政策白皮書暨原住民族專章) published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, it is high time that the government takes a step further in addressing ethnic health inequalities.
I hope legislators and the public can come together as one to support and accelerate the passing of the act, so that Taiwan can live up to its reputation of being a truly diverse and inclusive society.
Ma Chih-cheng,
Hualien County
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS