Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday vowed to create a care system for the elderly and for children, to relieve the burden on women, who are often the primary caregivers in the family.
“Caregiving for elders and children has been an important issue in society for a long time,” Tsai said at a documentary screening event hosted by the Peng Wan-ru Foundation, named after the slain director of the DPP Department of Women’s Development.
“According to a DPP opinion poll, long-term care for elders and children is one of the top-three issues that people would like the government to address,” she said.
She went on to say that it is an especially urgent issue for women, since the burden of caregiving is often shouldered by female members in the family, “and many of them have to quit their jobs for it.”
It is an ineffective allocation of human resources, she said, as most women are good workers.
“It is therefore the responsibility of the government to support caregiving in the family, ease the burden for the people, help to improve women’s participation in the labor market and to increase family incomes,” Tsai said, adding that she would begin discussing care policies with experts and would start experimenting with policy proposals in cities or counties governed by the DPP.
Asked about the harsh criticism from by long-time Taiwan independence leader Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) about her policy declaration to maintain the cross-strait “status quo,” which compared her to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Tsai said she would find a chance to discuss it with Koo in person.
“What he [Koo] said was a little abstract. I will find a chance to speak to him about it,” Tsai said.
In a separate setting, Tsai met with a delegation of Japanese parliamentarians headed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s brother, Kishi Nobuo.
Tsai said that the two sides promised to enhance exchanges, while the Japanese delegation expressed their concerns over Taiwan’s strict regulations on foods imported from Japan.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS