Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday presented his women's policy on International Women's Day, promising to ensure women's safety and create 100,000 more full-time jobs for them if elected on March 22.
Ma vowed to tackle the top three threats against women in Taiwan: domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual harassment. He also pledged to ease pressure on women and to fight for their safety, equality and development if elected.
Ma said he would increase prison terms by as much as 50 percent for sex offenders and would implement stricter standards on granting parole.
PHOTO: CNA
On reducing the amount of pressure placed on women, Ma said he would implement all the provisions in the Gender Equality Employment Law (兩性工作平等法) and seek to eliminate discrimination against women in the job market.
"We will establish a mature nursing system and create a carefree environment for women. Society will help to take care of their children and elderly family members when they are at work," Ma said while attending an International Women's Day celebration event at Youth Park in Taipei County.
Ma also promised to provide employment subsidies for women to encourage them to join the job market, which could create more than 100,000 jobs over the next four years.
"What we provide will be full-time high-quality jobs. We are not talking about part-time jobs or temporary work," he said.
When asked whether or not he would celebrate Women's Day with his wife Chow Mei-ching (
Chow, however, will begin visiting voters and campaigning for him starting on Thursday, Ma said.
Chow, who has rarely made public appearances during her husband's previous election campaigns, usually avoids publicity and has only campaigned for Ma on the eve of the two elections when he ran for Taipei mayor.
Ma said Chow would not join his campaign tour and would solicit support at separate events.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is