please take a minute and push some positive thoughts (or more) in the direction of mark and his family …
[b]Moderator’s note: At 31 pages this thread was once again becoming unwieldy, so we now go into Part 3 of the Prayers for Mark thread. Please continue here…If you’d like some reference to the Part 2 thread, please look [url=Prayers for Ma-ke Part 2
I split the thread here because the Taipeitimes article seemed most relevent. Note that the link above is no longer working, as the Taipeitimes pulled the original article after protests from Mark’s sister that many of her comments were taken out of context.[/b]
[quote] Though he has resided in Taiwan for 16 years and his wife and children are Taiwanese, Selikoff isn’t eligible to receive local medical insurance beyond October, Rachael said.
This is because Selikoff never applied for permanent residency and cannot obtain “handicapped status” as a severely brain-damaged foreigner.[/quote]
My ARC is up next month. I am SO applying for permanent residency.
It’s a shame that Mark didn’t, but christ, you’d think the government officials would make an exception…dolts.
I saw and spoke with Rachel last week at the fund raiser. Mark IS making progress, but there’s not much if anything he personally can do to alleviate his cashflow woes.
It probably won’t do much good, but I’m glad that the “stars” have been singled out for being shitheads. You don’t make a promise like that and then forget about it.
And for the rest of us longtermers, get the permanent residency ARC when you can. You never know. And it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see Mark’s wife and two kids and imagine what they’re going through.
[quote=“jdsmith”]My ARC is up next month. I am SO applying for permanent residency.
It’s a shame that Mark didn’t, but christ, you’d think the government officials would make an exception…dolts.[/quote]
Yeah, it’s easy to think that ARCs and so-called permanent residency exist to codify the rights of people who have earned them. That would, after all, be the decent thing for the government to do.
But officials here all too often treat applications for renewal or upgrading of status in Taiwan as opportunities to find excuses to rid the island of any foreigners who, in the eyes of the officials, cease to be an asset to the island. Thus, for example, a medical exam is imposed upon people applying for PR despite the fact that they’ve been living here for years and had to pass one earlier to receive an ARC. The purpose of this is damn sure not to help see that foreigners with problems receive proper medical care here.
I’ve decided, too, that the time has come for me to jump through all those extra hoops for PR.
Yeah, I’m quite surprised about this as well. I’ve gone through the NHI Act and don’t see why having an APRC or not would make a difference. In fact, the “Enforcement Rules of the NHI Act” specifically states that the ARC and APRC are equivalent under the Act. The only special rules applicable to foreigners are those in regard to qualification after arriving (may need to wait 4 months in some cases) and what happens after leaving. I don’t see anything specific to foreigners which would cause coverage to lapse if they don’t leave the country. Anyone know more details about why he’s going to lose coverage?
No need for you to apologize. The article was misleading–at the very f************ least. I hope they will print a retraction tomorrow.
Never-the-less, the Big Guy and his family needs a lot of support, financial–of course–but also people to go up and interract with Mark.[/quote]
I just got back from Linkou, seeing Mark and saying goodbye to Rachael who departs for the US in the early AM. When I got there, she was on the phone with the editor demanding and finally receiving a retraction, which should be on P.2 of the Taipeitimes…Tomorrow’s edition.
Misleading my friend? You are far too kind. 80% of the article was a complete crock of shit. Other than the insurance running out most of the rest was written in a way as to cast Mark, his family and his TV friends in as poor a light as possible. It was a piece of piss-poor journalism.
I hope the retraction is a bit more thought out… :fume:
The article did however, bring up a critical flaw in Taiwan’s Healthcare system for married foreign spouses. Like JD, after reading this I plan to immediately apply for a PARC. It’s just not worth the risk.
Maybe the next step after fundraising might be to find out if Mark can qualify for Permanent Residency on some kind of Humanitarian grounds. He’s certainly been here long enough to qualify and would make him eligible for coverage indefinitely.
Lastly, to those who have worked with Mark in the entertainment industry…Please disregard the Taipeitimes article. The family/close friends certainly recognize and appreciate deeply the donations you have so generously provided. Thank you.
MJB
EDIT: I see now that the online version of the article has been pulled…A step in the right direction. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Well, it looks like the right thing has been done by the Taipeitimes. While not a complete retraction, it at least serves point that a large section of the former article was either taken out of context or simply wrong.
Maoman, as far as I know…No, they won’t dump him on the street. They’ll just bill Shiao Hwei for the full cost of his medical care. When I find out more about this I’ll post back.
It seemed that the Taipei Times articles have brought everyone’s attention back on Mark’s issue.
I have obtained permission from Mark’s wife, Xiaohui, to let Mark’s website go public. Letting people who care for Mark have a closer look on Mark’s progress. And a better idea on how to help Mark up with his rehabilitation.
[quote=“JLS”]It seemed that the Taipei Times articles have brought everyone’s attention back on Mark’s issue.
I have obtained permission from Mark’s wife, Xiaohui, to let Mark’s website go public. Letting people who care for Mark have a closer look on Mark’s progress. And a better idea on how to help Mark up with his rehabilitation.[/quote]
This is great…So many people here read the thread but can’t put a face to the person. This will help a lot I think.
Regarding the Taipei times article…While it is true that the stories have revived interest in the case, have they revived it to a point where people might consider paying him a visit?
