Bills to support families, children and childcare are being prioritized by a group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.
DPP lawmakers Fan Yun (范雲), Huang Jie (黃捷) and Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) formed the “Fight for the Next Generation Alliance,” and highlighted 11 bills to push for approval during this legislative session.
The bills focus on accessible childcare, better employment protection and paid leave for working parents, gender equality, education and social welfare programs, Fan said, who is also serving as secretary-general of the DPP caucus.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
She said bills up for deliberation include the Employment Insurance Act (就業保險法), draft amendments to the Childcare Services Act (兒童托育服務法), Public Assistance Act (社會救助法), Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法), People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act (身心障礙者權益保障法), Child and Juvenile Welfare and Rights Protection Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法) and the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators (教育人員任用條例).
There are also amendments to the Criminal Code extending the statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children so the time limit would begin when the victim reached adulthood.
Other key items include better protection for youth, to prevent child labor and sexual exploitation of children by following Australia’s “Working With Children Check” process, which screens the records of adults at the workplace, ensuring there are no employees with violent or sexual offenses against children, she said.
At the same news conference, DPP Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) talked about protecting Taiwan’s future and a need for a law governing lawmakers’ travel to China. Trips to China, Hong Kong and Macau are unregulated, which could be detrimental to national security, he said.
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