Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) yesterday said that the role and the finances of the National Women’s League of the Republic of China are confusing, following criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.
“The league’s jobs, according to its mission statement, include entertaining troops to boost morale, which looks a bit confusing when it comes to defining its role,” Chen told reporters.
During a meeting of the Internal Administration Committee at the legislature in Taipei, Chen was questioned by DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) over whether the ministry — which is in charge of dealing with civic groups — is clear about the league’s finances.
Chen said that the ministry does not have such information.
“The league drew its funding from the public, therefore it should clearly explain how it spent the money, how much is left and where the difference went,” Chuang said.
“The Ministry of the Interior should be more aggressive over the issue,” Chuang said.
Chen said that as the league is a registered political group, rules do not require it to submit financial statements to the ministry.
However, he said that the group should publicize its financial statements.
“The ministry has asked it several times to provide its financial statements, but it has never done so,” Chen said.
Founded by Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) wife, Soong Mei-ling (宋美齡), in 1950, the league drew funds from import duties and movie ticket taxes.
The fundraising method was in place from 1955 to 1989, collecting more than NT$96.9 billion (US$2.92 billion).
In related news, while the league denied that it is a subsidiary of the KMT, DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that he found information on the group’s and the KMT’s official Web sites that showed otherwise.
On Facebook, Chen Chi-mai posted a photograph of the inaguration ceremony of league Changhua County chapter director Liao Yi-tien (廖宜田) on Jun. 23 last year, with both the Republic of China national flag and the KMT party flag in the backdrop on the stage.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
RSS