People aged 16 to 22 would soon be eligible to receive an annual NT$500 (US$16.46) voucher for sporting events, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday.
The policy aims to promote the development of the sports industry, and foster good exercise habits among the younger generation, it said.
About 1.65 million people would benefit from the policy, the Cabinet said.
Photo: CNA
The vouchers, released as QR codes, would be available to those born from Jan. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2007, and can be obtained online from June 1 to Dec. 31 and redeemed at designated locations.
The vouchers would be issued annually beginning this year, the Executive Yuan said.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) has said that similar vouchers, distributed twice during the COVID-19 pandemic, brought about NT$5.7 billion in benefits and NT$3.3 billion in spillover effects, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉承) said.
The voucher program is expected to cost up to NT$825 million, and the funds would be sourced from the sports development fund, Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) said.
The ministry hopes to achieve 1.5 to 2.5 times the benefits of vouchers cashed in, Lin said.
The age limits for the vouchers were set according to the Sports Administration’s sports participation statistics, which showed that 80 percent of elementary-school-aged children participated in sports, with junior-high-school students falling to 67 percent, 58 percent for high-school students and less than 50 percent for college students.
The Executive Yuan is also planning to provide a NT$1,200 “coming of age” subsidy, as well as allocate NT$22 billion for a post-pandemic school loan subsidy program to alleviate financial burdens for 550,000 students taking out loans for their education.
The government is planning to promote public transportation monthly passes in Taiwan proper, and potentially similar discounts for transportation in outlying islands, to lower travel expenses for students and commuters, Chen said.
The government’s NT$30 billion rental subsidy program would drop eligibility age restrictions from 20 to 18 to benefit more college students, Chen said, adding that the government has also invested NT$4.5 billion in funds to upgrade school dormitories and campuses.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old