Lawmakers yesterday clashed over a proposal by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members demanding state compensation for deaths due to COVID-19.
KMT legislators, led by caucus whip Alex Fai (費鴻泰), blamed the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for a surge in domestic infections, saying its loosening of quarantine measures for airline crew members was the main reason.
Fai said the government should investigate whether CECC officials had breached the law and should be held liable for the deaths, while reiterating the KMT’s proposal that the government compensate those who died of COVID-19.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators disagreed.
DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said that during the KMT administration under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), people died from flu and other diseases.
“Should their family have asked for state compensation from the KMT government?” Cheng asked.
The current situation was caused by “domestic infections at the local community level, because people breached restriction measures by going around and spreading the virus. However, the KMT wants all taxpayers to pay for people who broke the law,” Cheng said.
KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) on Tuesday said that the party would propose a bill requiring the government to give NT$2.8 million (US$100,846) — compensation of NT$2.5 million and a “consolation” payment of NT$300,000 — to every family who lost a member to COVID-19.
People diagnosed with COVID-19 should also receive NT$150,000 each, he said.
There is no legal basis for seeking state compensation for these cases, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said on Tuesday, adding that the government needs to be prudent when assessing the KMT’s proposal.
There is no mechanism under the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法) to pay state compensation or consolation money, he said.
“Taiwan has had deaths from dengue fever; so, if COVID-19 victims receive compensation, should people who are infected or die from other infectious diseases ask for the same treatment?” he asked.
State compensation is paid in cases of government misconduct or negligence leading to loss of life or property damage, he said.
The case with COVID-19 is uncertain, and requires further deliberation, he added.
Separately, Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that if the government is to provide state compensation for deaths due to COVID-19, it should specify which diseases would be entitled to the same claim.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin, Lee Hsin-fang and Yang Hsin-hui
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