The debate on whether to increase subsidies for elderly farmers took center stage yesterday at the legislature’s question-and-answer session on the government’s budget for next year.
Despite divisions on the rate by which the current subsidy of NT$6,000 a month should be -increased and on whether to exclude rich farmers from receiving the subsidy, no lawmaker speaking on the floor opposed raising the subsidy.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) remained tight-lipped on the government’s position, saying a decision would be made after considering the nation’s fiscal status and fairness in subsidy allocation among various demographic groups.
Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers accused Wu of backtracking from the campaign pledge he made when he ran for a legislative seat in Nantou County in 2007 that the subsidy should be raised to NT$10,000.
“Have you forgotten about this? Now that you are the premier and can deliver the promise, how come you oppose the idea?” DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) asked.
Wu asked Lee not to “deliberately ignore” the precondition for implementing the platform, which was “when the national treasury is in a good financial position.”
“The financial status improved, but it is still not enough,” Wu said.
DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) asked Wu if this was because “farmers contributed less to the country,” so their monthly subsidy remained at NT$6,000, while civil servants received a 3 percent pay raise on July 1 and retired veterans will get an increase of NT$600 in their monthly pension beginning in January.
“Beginning next year, a veteran will receive NT$14,150 a month. About 2,500 of them live most of the time in China. Is this what you called fairness?” Chiu said.
Lin Pin-kuan (林炳坤) of the Non-partisan Solidarity Union asked Wu to also consider raising subsidies for disabled persons and low--income families.
Lin said the party caucus would also propose an amendment to the Temporary Statute Regarding the Welfare Pension of Senior Farmers (老年農民福利津貼暫行條例) to compete with the DPP that suggested a subsidy of NT$7,000 and another amendment by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和), who asked for NT$10,000.
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) suggested including an exclusion clause in the statute to “ensure fairness” by preventing rich farmers from receiving the extra subsidy.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS