Recently passed amendments to the fiscal planning law would cause public health and social welfare funds to shrink, including childcare subsidies and funding for cancer screenings and medication, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said today.
Opposition parties collectively pushed amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) through the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week.
The new legislation would take effect three days after President William Lai (賴清德) announces it, Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said yesterday.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Next year’s overall government budget would be seriously affected by the amendments and may need to be reallocated, she said.
The central government needs to allocate NT$375.3 billion (US$11.47 billion) to local governments, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
As a result, funding for the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of National Defense may be reduced by 28 percent, it said.
The new legislation would affect the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s efforts to strengthen cancer prevention and expand publicly funded cancer screenings, the minister said in an interview prior to a press conference about expanding cancer screenings next year.
It would also affect funding for cancer treatments, research and drugs, he said.
Efforts aimed at countering the declining birth rate including childcare subsidies for children aged zero to two, various childcare services and subsidies for assisted reproduction treatments would all be impacted, Chiu said.
Funding for the social safety net, which has been progressively expanding, would also be impacted, he said.
Health, welfare and healthcare policies have nationwide significance and cannot be determined solely based on local preferences, Chiu said.
“We place great emphasis on overall inclusiveness, ensuring that all residents in Taiwan can have equal access to healthcare regardless of which county or city they live in,” the minister said.
This requires the central government to have sufficient resources to improve health care, social welfare and medical services, and create better working conditions for medical and healthcare professionals, he said.
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
Garbage and recycling schedules are to vary from Saturday through Sunday next week over the Lunar New Year holiday period. The following collection information is from the governments of the six special municipalities. Taipei Regular service: Sunday to Monday next week. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Extra service: Friday next week. Regular service resumes: Saturday next week. New Taipei City Extra service: Sunday. Adjusted collection time: Monday next week — garbage collection is to begin in the morning and end at 6pm. No service: Tuesday to Thursday next week. Regular service resumes: Friday next week. Note: Garbage can be dropped off at 70
A KFC branch in Kaohsiung may be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$200 million (US$1,907 and US$6.37 million), after a customer yesterday found an entire AAA battery inside an egg tart, the Kaohsiung Department of Health said today. The customer was about to microwave a box of egg tarts they had bought at the fast-food restaurant’s Nanzih (楠梓) branch when they checked the bottom and saw a dark shadow inside one of them, they said in a Threads post. The customer filmed themself taking the egg tart apart to reveal an entire AAA battery inside, which apparently showed signs of damage. Surveillance footage showed
GROUP EFFORT: The number of inbound travelers rose 11 to 12 percent last month, with a significant increase in tourists from Europe and North America, an official said The government aims to attract 9.4 million visitors this year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday, citing last year’s success in diversifying tourist markets. Taiwan last year drew about 8.57 million international arrivals, 72.3 percent of pre-COVID-19 levels. By contrast, the nation had about 18.94 million outbound tourists last year, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 level of 17.1 million. The estimated tourism revenue deficit was about NT$700.9 billion (US$22.22 billion). Taoyuan International Airport Corp expects more than 160,000 passengers to pass through the nation’s largest airport daily during the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins on Saturday. As of Jan. 30, the nation’s average hotel occupancy rate
RSS