The recent increase in the cost of living remains within the government’s target and prices have been “relatively stable” compared with previous years, Premier William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday at a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Lai made the remarks in response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Liu Chien-kuo’s (劉建國) questions about the consumer price index rising 2.13 percent year-on-year last month, its fastest pace in 13 months.
Liu cited media reports showing a list of products whose prices have or are set to rise, including hot-pot restaurants, fried chicken chains, beverage chains, movie tickets, admission fees at the National Palace Museum, National Health Insurance premiums, medicine and industrial paper.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Monthly tuition at private kindergartens have risen by more than 25 percent from about NT$8,000 to more than 10,000 over the past six years, which has negatively affected parents with preschoolers, Liu said.
Asked what measures the Cabinet would take to respond to rising cost of living nationwide, Lai said that analyses published by the central bank and the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics suggest that prices have remained rather stable and that the scope of the increase has remained largely the same as those seen in previous years.
The price increase is partly attributable to a significant increase in the tobacco tax of NT$20 — which is used to fund the Long-term Care Services Program 2.0 — as well as the usual hikes in food prices during the Lunar New Year holiday last month, Lai said.
By and large, goods that are typically in high demand are more susceptible to price increases, while those with lower demand are more insulated from price fluctuations, he added.
To ensure that there is no concerted action to push up prices, the Executive Yuan’s Price Stabilizing Task Force headed by Vice Premier Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉), the Fair Trade Commission and the Consumer Protection Committee conduct regular surveys on goods and take measures to guard against profiteering, Lai said.
As prices of goods correlates to electricity prices, Liu asked the premier to comment on media reports that electricity prices would rise either next month or in October, and that the government would make a decision next week at the earliest.
It is best not to speculate on the matter, as unnecessary speculation would only aggravate public concern, Lai said.
The Electricity Pricing Review Committee would follow standard procedures when evaluating whether it is necessary to raise power rates, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said.
The committee said it would strive to achieve a balance between three principles when making its decision: That the cost of living will not be affected; that households and tertiary industry would bear the least impact of a price hike; and that it would motivate people to adopt habits that promote energy conservation.
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