Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) yesterday drew criticism from Taiwanese lawmakers over a remark he made in Washington, when he said he detests Korean people.
On the sidelines of his speech on Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system at an international conference held by the Washington-based Center for Strategy and International Studies on Friday, Yaung compared national health insurance systems in different countries and mentioned how South Korea transformed its multi-carrier national health insurance system into a single national health insurance system after a group came to Taiwan to visit him and to learn from Taiwan’s example.
“But South Korean people would never say they copied from Taiwan,” Yaung said.
PHOTO: CNA
He then said: “It’s just like when [South] Korea also said Confucius was from [South] Korea. I detest(討厭) Korean people.”
Apparently realizing his blunder, he quickly said: “It would be terrible if this is broadcast.”
In Taipei, commenting on Yaung’s gaffe, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) yesterday said that not only was what Yaung said “inappropriate” but it also “disgraced the dignity of the nation” because Yaung is a government official.
“South Korea learned something from Taiwan’s NHI system. We should have felt honored by that. It doesn’t matter if South Korea said it learned from Taiwan or not,” Lo said.
Democratic Progressive Party Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said Yaung had never learned from past lessons that he should be more cautious with his words.
Huang was referring to controversial comments Yaung made in the past. He once said that “single people are more prone to mental illness” when he explained why single people should be asked to pay higher health insurance premiums in a plan to reform the NHI system.
Yaung also put his foot in his mouth recently when, promoting AIDS prevention, he said he wished that condoms could be available at betel nut stands and that betel nut beauties (檳榔西施), who often wear revealing apparel, could help the government in its AIDS awareness program.
“From the perspectives of a man, betel nut beauties should not be cracked down on,” he said. “Of course betel nut beauties should wear revealing apparel so that they can be eye-catching.”
“How could a politically appointed official make discriminatory comments about another country at an international occasion?” Huang said yesterday. “This was not the first time that Yaung has made improper comments, and it is because the Cabinet has indulged him instead of asking him to behave himself.”
Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no comment on that, with deputy spokesman James Chang (章計平) referring the press to Yaung to explain the context.
Meanwhile, Executive Yuan Spokesman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said the Cabinet respected personal comments unrelated to government policies made by Cabinet officials, but added the Executive Yuan also wished that Cabinet officials would be more cautious and take public sentiments into consideration before making comments.
Bureau of National Health Insurance Director Cheng Shou-hsia (鄭守夏) said the national health insurance reform Yaung mentioned was implemented by South Korea about 10 years ago when Yaung was DOH deputy minister under the former KMT administration.
Cheng said Taiwan and South Korea often exchange views on their national health insurance systems. South Korea implemented its national health insurance system earlier than Taiwan, but Taiwan’s system has been internationally recognized as better, Cheng added.
In his speech on Friday, Yaung said he was not optimistic about health insurance reform in the US because the US has too many private health insurance carriers, leaving too much leeway for fraud.
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
One person was killed and another seven injured today when a tourist shuttle bus plunged 30m to 40m down a ravine in Nantou County, the Tourism Administration said. The bus is suspected to have suddenly accelerated out of control near the flower center of the Sun-Link-Sea Forest Recreation Area, a popular attraction during cherry blossom season. Of the eight onboard, a 66-year-old man was killed, four were seriously injured and three sustained minor injuries, including the driver. The Nantou County Police Department said it received a report of the incident at 12:15pm and dispatched seven teams to assist. All surviving passengers have been transferred
RSS