Civic groups, including childcare advocates, and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday held a news conference at the legislature, condemning the opposition parties for stalling on the passage of next year’s budget, which they said resulted in withholding of funds, halting of subsidies to families and the suspension of public childcare centers.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators have blocked the deliberation process of the fiscal budget, so the central government cannot fully distribute funds to local governments, and childcare and other welfare programs might be put off next year, Childcare Policy Alliance spokesman Wang Chao-ching (王兆慶) said.
DPP legislators, including Lin Yue-chin (林月琴), Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), and representatives from the Peng Wan-ru Foundation and the Taiwan Public Childcare Association also participated at the news conference.
Photo downloaded from Lin Yueh-chin’s Facebook page
“We are working to safeguard social benefits and subsidies for mothers, families and children, and the new year starts next week, but the central government’s budget is still obstructed by opposition parties,” Lin said.
“KMT and TPP legislators telling people that they ‘prioritize bills related to social welfare programs’ is just a lie,” she said.
Lin said the blocking of the budget would have massive consequences on the welfare policies she has been advocating for, including a subsidy of NT$100,000 for new mothers, adding that if the budget fails to go through, parents of an estimated 120,000 babies would not receive it.
The stalling of the budget would also negatively affect the application of a policy change on maternal leaves and working from home aimed at giving parents more flexibility in work life, she said.
“Third, the public healthcare program would also be affected. It is aimed at upgrading public childcare facilities and would rely on steady financial support from the central government,” she said.
All the materials, from teaching tools to safety equipment, floor mats, fire prevention and video surveillance systems, rely on funding from the central government, she added.
Lin criticized KMT and TPP legislators for prioritizing amending the Nationality (國籍法) and Constitutional Court Procedure (憲法訴訟法) acts, instead of dealing with the fiscal budget, saying that the budget is crucial in realizing welfare programs.
“The opposition parties are blaming young people for not getting married and not having children,” she said, adding that they have no right to do that.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
BACK TO WINTER: A strong continental cold air mass would move south on Tuesday next week, bringing colder temperatures to northern and central Taiwan A tropical depression east of the Philippines could soon be upgraded to be the first tropical storm of this year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the next cold air mass is forecast to arrive on Monday next week. CWA forecaster Cheng Jie-ren (鄭傑仁) said the first tropical depression of this year is over waters east of the Philippines, about 1,867km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Nokaen by early today. The system is moving slowly from northwest to north, and is expected to remain east of the Philippines with little chance of affecting Taiwan,
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
RSS