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 (
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS