Vice Minister of Education Fan Sun-lun (
She said that students should not be victimized due to partisan feuds in the Legislative Yuan.
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Students stricken by hunger have been a much-talked-about subject since last month when Chinese-language media reported that more than 70,000 primary school students could not afford to pay for the lunch meals provided by schools, and schools could not offer any help either, because the subsidy was frozen by the legislature.
As there has been no development on the issue because of differing views between the ruling and opposition parties on the issue, Fan yesterday voiced her concern and called on the lawmakers to seek for a timely solution for the sake of students.
For this fiscal year, NT$433 million has been apportioned to local governments for the lunch meals of elementary students.
However, in accordance with a newly passed legislative resol-ution, the Executive branch must first gain approval from the legislature at a monthly meeting regarding how the funding will be used, so that the legislature can better monitor the executive departments.
Fan said because of this regulation, the budget earmarked for the lunch meal was rejected twice this year -- on March 27 and April 26 respectively, when the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (主計處), under the Executive Yuan, reported to the legislature because the opposition alliance disapproved part of the subsidies for local governments.
The vice minister stressed that her appeal was not meant to prompt partisan feuding, but was to prevent students from suffering because of political conflicts.
But Fan also dismissed media reports that students were stricken with hunger.
She said no students should be suffering from hunger nowadays because -- although being strapped for cash -- the local governments have managed to cover part of the fees for students who are from low-income families. And, along with the assistance from charity groups and faculty members at the schools, she said, no students should be afflicted by starvation.
Opposition lawmakers, however, did not consider it fair for them to shoulder the blame.
They accused the ruling administration of fault, and said that the DPP was spreading wrong information intended to mislead the general public.
"The budget bill was not sent to the legislature until March. How can we finish the reviewing process now?" said PFP lawmaker Diane Lee
DPP lawmakers said the opposition alliance was "opposed for the sake of opposing," and its request solely indicated how the legislative power had overridden the executive power.
"It is absolutely unreasonable for the Executive branches to report to the legislature every month in detail how its budget is used. By doing so, [opposition parties] just attempt to gain control of the authority to distribute financial resources," said DPP lawmaker Wang Li-ping (
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
RSS