A ribbon-cutting for the Taipei Wellness Clinic and Resort (TWCR) was held yesterday, amid protests from civil activists.
Located next to the Xinbeitou MRT Station, the 12-story complex on the former site of Yang Ming Hospital’s Beitou (北投) outpatient clinic was constructed by the Taipei City Government using NT$ 780 million (US$24.74 million) from the city’s medical fund.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called the project an investment designed to spur economic development.
Photo: CNA
“Taipei’s medical care is world-famous,” Hau said. “Combining it with the rapidly developing tourism sector will spur the development of both sectors, greatly benefiting the economy.”
The complex combines a luxury hot spring hotel with facilities for medical tests and beauty treatments on the second to fifth floors.
The listed price of a two-person room starts at NT$24,000 per night, not including charges for medical tests or beauty treatments, which are outside the scope of the National Health Insurance (NHI) system. Operations have been contracted out to the Taipei Veterans General Hospital Health Management Consulting Corporation.
Outside the ribbon-cutting ceremony, People Democracy Front and the Grassroots Nursing Union demonstrators protested against the city’s use of municipal funds to promote medical tourism.
“The money used to construct the complex should have been used to improve the quality of healthcare enjoyed by city residents,” said Chou Chia-chun (周佳君), director of the People Democracy Front’s Shilin/Beitou branch. “Only wealthy tourists with money to throw around will be able to afford the medical tests offered [at the complex].”
She said the city government ignored rules regarding project evaluation in a rush to approve the project, adding that the rent charged to the firm operating the complex was only half the market rate.
“The effect of investing an additional NT$1 billion into the existing medical system would be very limited,” Taipei Department of Health Commissioner Lin Chi-hung (林奇宏) said.
Funds used for construction were originally earmarked for investment, said Lin Hui-ping (林惠萍), division chief of the department’s planning division. She said the clinic’s managing firm is contractually required to match the city’s initial building investment over its 15-year contract, decorating the interior and providing medical equipment.
In addition to rent, the firm would be required to turn over 0.5 percent to 2 percent of all revenue to the city each year in addition to taxes, she said, adding that the firm would also be required to donate an additional 5 percent of all post-tax revenue to a health fund for the surrounding Beitou area.
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