The “sweatshop” accusations that some medical reform groups have made against hospital operators are “polarizing the medical field and are not in the best interest of the public,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉) said yesterday.
Su tabled an extemporaneous motion at Thursday’s meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee in Taipei, calling on groups demanding that medical institutions reform and improve the working conditions of healthcare workers to “set up a committee in a public hospital and run the hospital according to their ideals to see if it could work out.”
“Run it according to your ideals, your demands and with your suggested salaries and see whether [the hospital] would survive or close down. If the result turns out to be good, [we] would take you as a standard; if not, you should all just shut up,” Su said at the meeting.
In a statement yesterday, Su softened his tone and said his proposal would allow for a “scientific process” to see whether certain reforms could work.
“The government has been proposing measures to make improvements on various medical fronts, but few have received positive feedback... The medical profession used to be collegial, with those in the field supporting each other when facing hardship, but now there are many non-medical people who are causing a stir, and sowing mutual suspicion and conflict,” the statement said.
Quoting tycoon Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) comment that democracy does not fill one’s stomach, Su, who is also the director-general of the Taiwan Medical Association, said those criticizing hospital operators “should themselves get involved in the hands-on operation of a hospital and set an example by implementing their ideals successfully.”
Su’s controversial remarks on the medical profession were not the only comments he made that have drawn fire this week.
At a committee meeting on Monday, while quizzing Environmental Protection Administration Minister Wei Kuo-yen (魏國彥) on the topic of nuclear waste disposal, Su derailed the discussion by calling for an “education budget redistribution.”
The reason he gave for the proposal was that “national university professors and students are the ones who are causing chaos on the streets.”
Su also asked Wei “what sociology departments are studying,” a comment targeting the leaders of the recent student protests who are mainly graduates in sociology.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
RSS