The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Saturday announced that the official minimum monthly cost of living in six cities and counties would be raised next year, meaning that more low-income and lower-middle income households would be eligible for government subsidies.
The six are Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, and Kinmen and Lienchiang counties.
Among Taiwan’s six major municipalities, the poverty line for low-income households in Taipei would be raised by the largest amount, from NT$16,580 to NT$17,005, the ministry said.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
For lower-middle income households, the poverty line in Taipei would be increased to NT$24,293, it said.
In New Taipei City the poverty line for low-income families would be adjusted from NT$14,666 to NT$15,500, in Taoyuan it would be raised from NT$14,578 to NT$15,281 and in Taichung it would be raised from NT$13,813 to NT$14,596.
Tainan and Kaohsiung have decided not to raise their poverty lines, the ministry said.
The poverty line for low-income families in Kinmen and Lienchiang would increase from NT$11,135 to NT$11,648, it said.
The poverty line is defined as 60 percent of the average national monthly expenditure for the previous year, with some restrictions relating to ownership of assets and real estate.
The poverty line can be adjusted any time that changes in the cost of living reach 5 percent, a ministry official said.
As of the end of June, Taiwan had 252,263 low-income and lower-middle income households, ministry figures showed.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it