The Executive Yuan yesterday unveiled a NT$210 billion (US$7.11 billion) budget proposal for COVID-19 relief, with NT$137.5 billion earmarked for economic stimulus for sectors hit hard by the pandemic.
Under the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例) the government was authorized — depending on developments amid the pandemic — to issue a second stimulus budget that does not exceed the first one, which in April had its cap increased to NT$210 billion.
The second budget was proposed because the nation’s export-oriented manufacturing industry has suffered due to a weak global economy, while the tourism and transportation industries need more relief due to restrictions on inbound visitors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) told a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The increase would be funded entirely by borrowing, the DGBAS said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs would receive the largest slice, NT$137.5 billion, of which NT$38.2 billion would be used to offset a shortage of funds for the Triple Stimulus Vouchers; NT$45 billion would be to guarantee loans companies had taken out; and NT$37.8 billion would cover salaries and operational costs of businesses in service, trade, exhibition, manufacturing and manufacturing-related industries, the DGBAS said.
The Triple Stimulus Vouchers cost NT$51.1 billion, it said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare would be given NT$37.4 billion, including NT$2 billion for research and development of COVID-19 vaccines; NT$11.6 billion for purchasing such vaccines; NT$12 billion in bonuses and reimbursements to personnel involved in disease prevention; and NT$5.3 billion for the government’s response to the pandemic, the proposal showed.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications would receive NT$9.8 billion, including NT$6.8 billion to subsidize salaries for travel agency employees, tour guides and stores at international airports; NT$2 billion for airports to cover shortfalls in landing and royalty fees; NT$400 million for transportation companies that carried people from airports after they were ordered into quarantine; and NT$200 million to hotels enlisted by local governments to accommodate people ordered into isolation, it showed.
The Council of Agriculture would receive NT$19.1 billion, including NT$18.4 billion in subsidies for fishers and NT$400 million to cover losses sustained by the seafood industry, it showed.
The duration of the budget for disease prevention has been extended, with the deadline moved from December to June next year, DGBAS Department of General Fund Director-General Chang Wei-ming (張惟明) said.
Subsidies for salaries in industries overseen by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications would be extended from the end of the third quarter to the end of the year, officials said.
The budget request is to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that due to the budget request, a second extraordinary session seems inevitable.
The extraordinary session would likely begin after the Aug. 15 Kaohsiung mayoral by-election, Ker said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from