The Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal that it said would reduce the interest burden on loans belonging to 370,000 of the nation’s farming households by around NT$700 million (US$23 million).
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) made the announcement at a press conference following the Cabinet’s weekly meeting.
Chen said the reduced interest burden would take effect immediately.
The government launched a special agricultural loan program in 1973 to provide financial aid to farmers and fishermen.
Under the program, farmers could take out loans with lower interest rates for 13 purposes, which include fees for their children’s education; household affairs; and costs related to growing crops.
The council said that about 580,000 farmers and fishermen had taken out a total of NT$300.5 billion in loans from the program as at the end of last year, while current loans to 200,000 farmers and fishermen amounted to around NT$109.2 billion.
Under the proposal, the amount available would be increased from NT$35 billion to NT$50 billion, and the loan interest rate would be cut by 0.5 percent.
Chen said that the cut in the interest rate would decrease the burden on those 200,000 households by NT$580 million.
The government would also provide farmers and fishermen with another NT$15.5 billion in loans for household consumption and another NT$80 million in low interest loans for them to borrow to repay their debts, which would save them a further NT$110 million in interest payments, Chen said.
Chen also said the government would adopt necessary mechanisms and make adjustments between supply and demand to stabilize the prices of agricultural products during the Lunar New Year.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet yesterday approved an amendment to the Special Education Act (特殊教育法) that calls for extending the system to higher education and other departments of adult education, requiring institutions to install facilities to meet the needs of students with special needs.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said at the meeting that the revisions would help improve the quality of special education and ensure the education rights of disadvantaged and gifted students, a Government Information Office press statement said.
The amendment also expanded the scope of students who qualify for special education, incorporating people with emotional and behavioral problems, while also broadening the definition of gifted students.
On financial support, the Ministry of Education was authorized by the amendment to grant deductions on tuition to households with preschool children enrolling in privately owned kindergartens and day-care centers that charge high fees.
Minister Without Portfolio Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗) said that the revisions in the Act reflected the elevation of living standards in the country as the regulations governing the special education system need keep pace with the changing environment as well as global norms.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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