A legal organization providing free legal services to low income earners, including foreign nationals, was launched yesterday in Taipei.
During its launch ceremony, the Legal Aid Foundation (
President Chen Shui-bian (
"The idea behind this foundation is to protect the legal rights of needy people when they are in a lawsuit, including foreigners," said Cheng Wen-lung (
Cheng is well-known for his volunteer work on behalf of the victims of the Tunghsing Building collapse in Taipei City during the 921 earthquake in 1999. Eighty-seven people in the building were killed.
free assistance
The foundation has an annual budget of NT$500 million provided by the Judicial Yuan, and provides free legal assistance to applicants who meet certain conditions.
"The government is responsible for providing legal aid so that every citizen can fulfill his right to file a suit, which is mandated by the Constitution," Weng said.
Cheng said that applicants qualifying for legal aid include defendants in criminal cases who appeal a seemingly unfair verdict; victims of domestic violence and sexual harassment (including rape), discrimination and work injuries; as well as those suffering from disabilities, Aboriginal people, children and teenagers in general.
In addition, applicants must be low-income earners.
applicants
For single applicants or those applicants with only two family members, monthly income must be less than NT$28,000 in Taipei City, NT$23,000 in Kaohsiung City or NT$22,000 elsewhere in the country.
For applicants with three people in a household, the combined household income must not exceed NT$38,000 in Taipei, NT$33,000 in Kaohsiung or NT$32,000 in the rest of the country.
For applicants with four or more people in a household, the threshold is NT$48,000 in Taipei, NT$43,000 in Kaohsiung and NT$42,000 in other areas.
Applicants must submit a copy of his or her household registration, the tax reports of household members and details of the legal case in question before their applications can be processed.
The foundation said it has five branch offices in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Hualien.
In Taipei, there are six law-yers on call but more lawyers are expected to join the foundation in the near future.
"We are planning to expand and will have 21 branch offices within another three years," Cheng added.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS