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.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS