A coalition of 28 civic groups yesterday criticized the “disappointing” and indirect responses it received to a gender-equality policy questionnaire from the nation’s major political parties.
The Awakening Foundation, the National Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations and other groups early last month submitted the nine-point questionnaire to eight political parties.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) response mainly addressed expansions to its current policies, while the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) proposals, on the whole, pose an inadequate challenge to the ruling party, Awakening Foundation chairwoman Chiang Chen-yin (姜貞吟) said.
Photo: CNA
Regarding salaries and work-life balance, the DPP promised to offer more flexible parental leave, paid family care and long-term care leave, and extend the length of paid maternity leave, the groups said.
However, it did not offer specifics on those plans, and did not provide a proposal for reducing overall working hours, they said.
In Taiwan, new mothers can take eight weeks of maternity leave at 100 percent of their insured monthly salary, while new mothers and fathers can take six months of parental leave at 80 percent of their salary before their child turns three.
The government does not guarantee paid family care leave or long-term care leave.
The KMT promised in the survey to offer three-and-a-half days of annual paid family care leave, while the TPP pledged to “increase” family care leave, without specifying the number of days or whether they would be paid, the groups said.
Regarding day care access, the DPP put forth a plan to increase the number of quasi-public and community childcare centers, while the TPP and KMT focused mainly on increasing childcare-related subsidies, Chiang said.
None of the three major parties offered concrete plans to reduce the urban-rural gap in access to childcare, she said.
Regarding a labor shortage at long-term care centers, only the KMT pledged to integrate migrant workers into the system, by gradually allowing government-contracted nursing homes to hire foreign caregivers, Awakening Foundation consultant Lee Shao-fen (李韶芬) said.
In contrast, the DPP focused on finding ways for people caring for elderly family members to continue working, while the TPP proposed expanding direct hiring of home-based foreign caregivers and increasing transparency among labor brokers, Lee said.
The New Power Party, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, the People First Party, the Taiwan Obasang Political Equality Party and the Green Party also responded to the questionnaires, the groups said.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS