President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday clarified the future of Taiwan's social welfare system, saying the government will execute the reform of social welfare services in tandem with economic reform in order to effectively fulfill the public's demands.
"All of the government's economic policies should also incorporate the development of environmental protection and social welfare services," the president said in an address at the launching of the National Conference on Social Welfare Services Development (全國社會福利會議).
He added that the government should also aggressively develop domestic service industries, give consideration to disadvantaged minorities and create more opportunities for obtaining employment.
Chen said he hopes the ongoing government-restructuring plan can be completed as soon as possible so that the government can concentrate on social-welfare reform.
Chen said social welfare is critical to sustainable national development, social stability, harmony and internal unity. He added that the forging of an innovative, efficient social welfare service system is an important part of the government's new Six-Year National Development Plan.
"Social welfare services should be regarded as a kind of investment," Chen said. "Therefore, all measures to improve welfare should be seen as balancing the social justice and economic systems. Doing so will prevent problems from happening, so that we don't have to try and solve problems that have already become entrenched in our society.
"The reforms will tie the employment policy to the social welfare system -- turning welfare into aggressive assistance rather than passive relief."
Chen said he was pleased to witness the start of a national social welfare conference because it will chart a new course for Taiwan's social welfare services development in the 21st century.
Quoting British sociologist Anthony Giddens, Chen said a good government is one that can establish a social security system while at the same time upgrading its economic competitiveness.
In the face of the changing global situation, Chen said, Taiwan must undergo sweeping political, economic, public service and social welfare reforms and should use new thinking to promote social welfare services. "We should treat social welfare as a social investment," he stressed.
Speaking on the same occasion, Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
"Therefore, I hope all civil organizations will assist the government in creating a better system that will make welfare institutions popular among all communities," Yu said.
More than 300 scholars, experts, elected representatives and relevant government officials are participating in the three-day conference to discuss a range of topics, including the feasibility of privatizing welfare institutions and of developing a community welfare system.
Some civil welfare organizations criticized Chen's remarks as being too vague to show a clear way forward.
"The President's speech is loaded with many beautiful adjectives, but it has no concrete details," said Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) secretary general of the League of Welfare Organizations for the Disabled.
"President Chen doesn't stay with us to listen to our suggestions, as he did during last year's Economic Development Advisory Conference and the government has already pre-determined their decisions on some of the conference's major issues, so we doubt the government's sincerity," Wang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS