The nation’s eight state-run banks and several private banks yesterday deposited NT$6,000 (US$197) into the bank accounts of people who had registered online to claim the government cash payments, well ahead of the original schedule.
The change was made following an interministerial meeting convened by the Ministry of Finance late on Friday, after O-Bank Co Ltd (王道商業銀行) earlier in the day deposited NT$6,000 in the accounts of its clients who had registered, ahead of the government’s plan to release the funds on Thursday.
O-Bank Co apologized, saying that it wanted to give its clients the payment before the long weekend, which started yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) yesterday said that O-Bank released about NT$49 million, as just more than 8,000 of its clients had registered to claim the payment.
Using some of last year’s tax surplus, the government is giving NT$6,000 to citizens, foreign nationals with permanent residency and resident spouses of Taiwanese.
People who do not wish to register online to have the money deposited into their bank accounts can get the money from select ATMs by using their bank card and entering their ID and National Health Insurance card number. They can also collect by taking their ID and National Health Insurance card to a post office from April 17.
The interministerial meeting concluded that banks could disburse the payment “as soon as possible,” an official said yesterday.
Whether people receive their deposit before the end of the long weekend would depend on the number of people who have registered their bank details and whether their bank is willing to distribute the payment earlier than planned, the official said.
As of yesterday, the nation’s eight state-run banks had begun depositing the payments, as well as several private banks, including CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行), Taishin International Bank (台新銀行), Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行), KGI Bank (凱基銀行) and Line Bank Taiwan Ltd (連線商業銀行).
Chunghwa Post would deposit the payments starting today.
People can update their bank passbook or access their account information online to check if they have received the payment, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Digital Affairs said.
The description in bank passbooks would read “from the Executive Yuan (行政院發),” online references should read “from the Executive Yuan” or “cash payment shared by all (全民共享發現金 or 全民共享普發現金).”
If people who registered online have not received the payment, they can check their registration status at 6000.gov.tw. If they have entered incorrect information, they can register again.
If people register on the Web site after Thursday next week, they can expect to receive the deposit within two working days.
The finance ministry said some local media have incorrectly reported that the deadline for online registration was on Friday.
Online registration is available 24 hours a day until Oct. 31, it said.
Additional reporting by Hsu Tzu-ling
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions