Members of the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China yesterday rallied outside the legislature in Taipei to protest against the pan-green camp’s proposals to abolish a special act governing the organization’s operations.
About 300 members from the society’s chapters nationwide participated in the protest, with some coming from Hualien and outlying Kinmen county.
Shouting slogans, the protesters said the law could be amended, but that it must not be nullified, as they called for social “stigma” to be dismissed.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and New Power Party (NPP) legislators have proposed abolishing the Red Cross Society Act of the Republic of China (中華民國紅十字會法) over perceived loopholes they say have made the organization an offshoot of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), created unfair stratification for younger members and allowed it to avoid public scrutiny when appropriating donations.
Several KMT legislators took to the stage to give speeches in support of the society.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said he is against the “lame” political persecution launched by the pan-green camp against the society, adding that all 35 KMT lawmakers would attempt to block the passage of the bill.
KMT Legislator Arthur Chen (陳宜民) said that abolishing the act would be a mistake, as more than 150 nations have promulgated special legislation for the Red Cross.
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) lauded the society’s efforts to rescue people during emergencies, adding that, with the number of lives the society has saved, its members should go to heaven, but the pan-green camp is attempting to send them to hell.
“I wonder why ‘Big Green’ DPP and ‘Little Green’ NPP are so eager to get rid of you... Society has been inverted. What was good is now evil, and what was evil is now good,” Apollo Chen said.
KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said that the act must not be abolished and the society must not be disbanded, as the organization has served as an important channel for the nation to boost its international space by participating in international relief efforts.
Following a discussion with the DPP caucus in May, the Executive Yuan said that it was positioned to “retain the organization, but abolish the special act.”
Society president Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said that the Red Cross’ government-appointed directors and supervisors could be removed in the wake of criticism that there are KMT-appointed “guardians” in the organization.
She said if the public does not like the rule allowing the organization’s president to serve unlimited terms, the act could be changed to limit the number of terms the vice president can serve to one.
If the public has doubts over the way donations are spent during emergencies, the act could be amended to include provisions stipulating how the money is to be spent, she added.
Wang Ching-feng said she would request a constitutional interpretation from the Council of Grand Justices if the act is abolished, adding that she would retire if the act is amended or abolished.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man
RSS