President Ma Ying-jeou says social welfare spending as a share of the national budget has hit a new high.
Ma made the comments on Tuesday at a charity event held by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taipei. Ma said since Taiwan signed into law two UN human rights covenants, its protection for the disabled is gradually catching up with the standards of developed countries. He also said social welfare spending now accounts for the lion’s share of the national budget.
Ma said, “If we look at the central government’s total budget and the nature of the expenditure, we see that social welfare is now the biggest category. This is a situation never seen in past decades. In the past, it was always national defense or economy that made up the bulk of government spending, but in recent years, social welfare has taken precedence.”
Meanwhile, Ma said it is the government’s responsibility to help the disabled to become independent. He said government agencies now employ 70,000 disabled people, an increase of 50% over the number in 2008. He also said he hopes society will be more friendly towards the disabled.