The Control Yuan yesterday censured the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) for failing to promptly revise regulations governing the method by which the circulation rate on credit cards issued by banks is calculated, which it said was unfair to customers.
The commission had agreed to a proposal by the Consumer Protection Commission in 2006 that interest on unpaid credit cards should be based on the amount that remained unpaid rather than the total amount a cardholder had borrowed that year.
Control Yuan member Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君) said the FSC had failed to revise the rules until February, allowing card users to be “exploited” by card issuers.
“The FSC deserves condemnation for neglecting its duties,” Chien Lin said.
In a statement, the FSC said it adopted the new measures in February and announced the change on Tuesday last week, with the new regulations scheduled to take effect on Oct. 27.
The Control Yuan yesterday also censured the Department of Health over a long-term policy that it said prioritized Western medicine and stifled traditional Chinese medicine.
Citing Article 10 in the amendments to the Constitution that stipulates that the state shall promote universal medicine and promote research and development in both modern and traditional medicine, the Control Yuan said the department did not abide by the regulation.
Control Yuan member Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) told a press conference that the department ignoring traditional medicine went counter to a global recognition of the importance of medical sciences in various countries.
“In South Korea, an institution dedicated to researching traditional medicine was established in 1994, with about 140 employees and an annual research budget of NT$2.8 billion [US$88.18 million]. In Taiwan, the annual budget for the National Research of Chinese Medicines set up in 1963 was NT$145 million and its number of employees was reduced to 26,” Cheng said.
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