A raft of new programs and government policies that are expected to bring benefits to society at large will take effect today.
Among them is a child welfare program sponsored by the Ministry of the Interior, which will allow Taiwanese families with an annual household income of less than NT$1.5 million (US$50,000) and families to receive a monthly stipend of NT$3,000 for each child under 2 years of age.
Families in all income brackets will also be eligible to receive the stipend after the birth of a third child.
In Taipei City, a campaign to boost the city’s birth rate will also be launched starting today. Couples who have lived in the city for more than a year will be offered an incentive of NT$20,000 for each newborn child, once at least one of the parents has recognized household registration in the city.
The campaign also allows a monthly subsidy of NT$2,500 to be granted to families for children under the age of five years, providing the parents are registered Taipei City residents who have lived in the city for more than a year and are in an income tax bracket that places them in the bottom 20 percent of income earners.
Other policy changes and initiatives that will also take effect today include the decision to increase the country’s monthly minimum wage from NT$17,280 to NT$17,880 and the hourly minimum wage from NT$95 to NT$98.
The EU visa waiver privilege for Taiwanese passport holders traveling to the Schengen Area and three EU member states will also take effect on Jan. 11.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
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