Lawmakers from across party lines yesterday proposed amending the law to allow foreign doctors to provide medical treatment in Taiwan if necessary -- a move aimed at helping former president Lee Teng-hui (
In an effort to bring to an end an incident that has disturbed relations between Taiwan, Japan and China, and out of humanitarian concern to solve Lee's medical problems, lawmakers raised the idea of amending current law to let foreign doctors practice in Taiwan. Under the Physicians' Law (醫師法), only the holders of licenses issued by Taiwan's government may practice medicine here.
"If the Japanese government insists on not issuing former president Lee a visa, the only solution would be for Japanese doctors to come to Taiwan," said KMT lawmaker Liu Kuang-hua (
Endorsing Liu's views, People First Party lawmaker Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) said that given Taiwan's disadvantaged standing in the international community, both incumbent and former presidents were effectively "grounded" in Taiwan because of pressure from China.
Hwang argued that medical expertise and specialization may vary from country to country and therefore, to prevent political factors from affecting the health of presidents, existing law should be amended.
To guarantee the right to medical treatment of both presidents and civilians, lawmakers suggested revising two stipulations -- the regulations for the treatment of former presidents, and those governing medical practice by foreign doctors.
In addition to benefits including salary, transportation, and housing enjoyed by former presidents, lawmakers suggested adding another stipulation to allow, with the approval of the Department of Health, former presidents and vice presidents to invite foreign doctors to come to Taiwan to provide them with medical treatment.
To uphold the medical rights of civilians, lawmakers also proposed adding another regulation, to the effect that in the case of a medical emergency which local medical skills and facilities are inadequate to handle, a foreign doctor may provide medical treatment in Taiwan upon obtaining special permission from the health department and an invitation from a local hospital.
Meanwhile, there have been conflicting responses to the question of whether Mitsudo Kazuaki, the doctor Lee plans to see in Japan for a follow-up examination, performed Lee's heart operation at National Taiwan University Hospital in November. Lee said at a press conference on Sunday that Kazuaki was the only person who knew where his five stents -- a device for dilating narrowed coronary arteries -- had been placed, implying that it was indeed the Japanese surgeon who performed the operation. The hospital said Kazuaki merely "supervised" the operation.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
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
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
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
RSS