Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, presented plans to repair the homes of the underprivileged and subsidize students “to ensure equal opportunity in education for all” while stumping for the party’s legislative candidates in Tainan yesterday.
Lai said that he was a Tainan legislator for four terms, and later served two terms as Tainan mayor, during which time he established public service teams that worked with charity organizations.
“These teams took in skilled craftspeople and builders to undertake repair work for the underprivileged. They donated their time and labor to improve shelter for families from lower socioeconomic levels,” he said.
Photo: CNA
The program received such good publicity that groups in Kaohsiung, and Pingtung, Chiayi and Nantou Counties, as well as other regions, wanted to invite the teams to their areas, Lai said.
“If elected president, I will promote this program throughout the nation,” he said.
Lai said he would also ensure that from next year, people would not need pay tuition for high school or vocational training schools.
“Equal rights for education is the government’s responsibility,” Lai said.
He also outlined a plan under which students whose family income is below NT$700,000 would receive an annual stipend of NT$20,000, while those whose family income is between NT$700,000 and NT$900,000 would receive NT$15,000.
The tuition and miscellaneous fees for private colleges and universities add up to an average of NT$110,000, but at public universities the figure is NT$60,000, Lai said.
“That amounts to average difference of NT$50,000, and we plan to make up at least 70 percent of that amount, or about NT$35,000, for students enrolled at private colleges and universities,” he said.
The DPP’s vice presidential candidate, former representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), said while campaigning in Kaohsiung and Tainan that the DPP has been successful at placing Taiwan, its democracy and freedom in the international spotlight.
“Now Taiwanese are walking with pride ... when visiting many countries around the world, so we call on people to vote for our DPP ticket,” she said.
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight