Negotiations between the Department of Health (DOH) and the Taipei City Government over the health insurance premiums that the city owes the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) failed yesterday.
The two sides were unable to reach a consensus on the payment method or the method for calculating the city's health insurance fees during yesterday's negotiations.
Yang Ching-chuan (
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Taipei Deputy Mayor Pai Hsiou-hsiung (
Pai yesterday afternoon led a group of city government officials, including City Government Spokesman Wu Yu-sheng (
The city argued that it should not have to pay so much in health insurance premiums for Taipei's citizens, saying it was unfair for the city to pay the bills for 3.58 million people who work in Taipei, when only 2.63 million of them live in the city.
On Monday, the Ministry of Justice's Department of Administrative Enforcement announced the seizure of 30 immovable assets belonging to the Taipei City Government as security. The 30 properties are estimated to be worth about NT$11.2 billion, including elementary schools, hospitals and land reserved for MRT stations.
Earlier in the day, Taipei City Councilors from the pan-blue camp, including the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People First Party (PFP) and the New Party, as well as the Nonpartisan Solidarity Union held a news conference asserting that the central government had overcharged and "extorted" the Taipei City Government.
"It is a typical case that the central government treated people, but the city government paid the check," said PFP City Councilor Dai Hsi-chin (
Dai and PFP City Councilor Wang Chih-ping (
Chang Hong-jen (
"The city government should not spread one-sided information, trying to mislead the public into believing that the central government is bullying the city government," Chang said. "The Taipei City Government knowingly violated the law and overtly refused to honor its debts. There would be no justice if a city government can successfully ignore its liabilities and responsibilities."
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
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