Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday said that Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) should answer daily complaints from the public about Taiwan’s COVID-19 vaccine shortage.
Chiang made the remarks on the sidelines of an event at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei to announce an initiative to donate meals to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All the nation’s vaccine problems are about not having enough doses,” he said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Chiang, who is also a lawmaker, said that his office every day receives telephone calls from people complaining about being unable to get vaccinated.
“We hear Minister Chen Shih-chung say that there are enough vaccines,” Chiang said. “I really want to invite you [Chen] to come to my office and sit here for an hour and answer a phone call or two.”
“You will know what the people think,” he said.
Meanwhile, the KMT is mobilizing its service stations, party chapters and civic groups nationwide for a “meal donation campaign,” Chiang said.
The KMT is planning to donate 10,000 food packages to people in need, Chiang said, adding that the campaign would last one month.
As of Tuesday, 215 businesses nationwide had agreed to join the campaign and provide meals to those in need, he said, adding that a mobile app developed by the party would indicate the locations where meals would be provided.
Chiang also called on the government to show more sympathy toward people affected by the pandemic and not to reject the ideas of opposition parties just for the sake of objecting.
Since the pandemic began, the nation’s unemployment and furlough rates have continued to set new records, Chiang said.
The prospect for young graduates is dire, and people are asking when they can return to their normal lives, Chiang said.
Many people are also complaining about the government’s latest relief packages, which were designed after last year’s packages without necessary improvements, Chiang said.
The most efficient relief measure would be to hand out cash to every Taiwanese, but the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) refuses to accept the advice, he said, adding that the government should freeze fuel and electricity prices, but it is unclear whether there are any such plans.
Many people are in need of help, but the government has left behind more people than it has helped with its relief packages, KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said.
The KMT would do the job that Tsai is failing at, he said.
Restaurants that wish to join the campaign can provide food packages in whatever form, Chiang Wan-an said, adding that members of the public should support these businesses by buying their products.
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