Public health should transcend party lines: Lai

Taipei, Feb 4. (CNA) Public health measures should not be undermined by party wrangling, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Tuesday, urging the opposition-controlled Legislature to give related budgeted cuts and freezes a second thought.

"Public heath protection should not be divided along party lines," Lai said at an event in Taipei marking the World Cancer Day.

According to Lai, the government had earmarked an additional NT$4 billion funding for expanded cancer screening programs, bringing the total to approximately NT$6.8 billion.

Lai said, however, that 10 percent of the administrative costs for those programs had been cut, while 30 percent were frozen due to budget cutting measures put through by opposition party lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP).

"Early detection enables early treatment," the president said of the importance of those programs, though his rhetoric may have implied a far greater impact of any cuts or freezes on the programs than they could actually have.

A chart provided by the Presidential Office indicated that of the additional NT$4.15 billion requested, the costs Lai was referring to were NT$592.8 million categorized vaguely as outsourcing expenses used to commission outside parties to conduct research or handle other tasks.

A cut of 10 percent of the NT$592.8 million would amount to a reduction of only 1.43 percent of the total additional funding requested, an amount unlikely to disrupt the program.

On Jan. 22, the Legislature adopted the NT$2.92 trillion central government budget for fiscal year 2025, after KMT and TPP lawmakers endorsed spending cuts totaling NT$207.6 billion, according to the Cabinet's figures.

As of now, however, the Cabinet has not yet been notified by the Legislature of the adopted government budget plan.

Therefore, the figures released by the government regarding budget cuts and freezes remain an estimate.

In December, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) revealed plans to lower the age eligibility for subsidized cancer screenings starting Jan. 1, 2025 in the hope of expanding access to tests for cervical, breast, colorectal and lung cancers.

Combating cancer, which has been the leading cause of death in Taiwan for more than four decades, is a policy focus of the Lai administration, which has pledged to reduce the age-standardized mortality rate in Taiwan by one-third by 2030 through expanded screening and new treatments.