Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例).
The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries.
Photo: Taipei Times
Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within seven months, and available until early May next year, the ministry said.
The handout would be available to citizens with a household registration in Taiwan; nationals without household registration, but in possession of a residency permit; permanent residents; foreign residents from China — including Hong Kong and Macau — and other countries with Taiwanese spouses; and government employees posted overseas and their Taiwanese dependents, it added.
The handouts are to be distributed the same way as the NT$6,000 handout in 2023, with five options to claim them: direct bank transfer, registered transfer, ATM withdrawal, post office withdrawal or through a roster-based distribution system, the ministry said.
The government would release an online platform through a multi-ministerial effort to enable eligible Taiwanese and foreign residents to register, it said.
Local police stations would be tasked with distributing the funds to people living in areas where all other methods are unavailable, it added.
The ministry would publish timetables and other details about the handouts a month after the policy’s promulgation, it said.
An estimated 23.56 million people are eligible, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.
The handouts are expected to increase GDP by 0.5 percent, assuming people spend them in the same manner as they did in 2023, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.
The real impact of the handouts depends on whether people spend on additional services and products, or buy necessities, he said.
The handouts would have a greater effect on the economy if enterprises and vendors follow through with special sales and activities to encourage consumption, Kung said.
A coordinated release of the handouts with trade shows, concerts and sporting events for next year would likely boost economic activity, he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said that NT$113.2 billion of the special budget earmarked for national defense would increase Taiwan’s strategic reserves to 120 days from 30 days.
Huang Wen-chi (黃文啟), head of the Department of Strategic Planning, said the military would use the funds to improve the training of conscripts and reservists, and build deeper ammunition stockpiles.
The ministry has requested NT$67.3 billion to harden communications through cloud-based operating systems, Taiwan’s backbone network and mobile command centers, Huang said.
Another NT$3 billion is being requested to modernize the navy’s Dacheng command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, and integrate radars, he said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare is requesting NT$36 billion to improve healthcare for disadvantaged groups and shore up the National Health Insurance (NHI) system, officials said.
Department of Social Assistance and Social Work head Su Chao-ju (蘇昭如) said that NT$20 billion would immediately be used to help the NHI deal with national emergencies, including potential medical material shortages stemming from US tariffs or the spread of infectious diseases.
The government would use NT$9.7 billion to increase welfare for those in need, benefiting up to 1.09 million people, she said.
The disadvantaged groups being targeted by the policy are low-income and medium-to-low-income individuals, people with disabilities and disadvantaged families receiving relief, she said.
Additionally, NT$6.27 billion would be allocated to care for the 700,000 elderly people who live alone, she said.
The ministry is launching efforts to create a tiered system to protect vulnerable elderly people living without assistance by providing regular welfare checks and food deliveries, and installing alarms for health emergencies, officials said.
The Coast Guard Administration unveiled a proposal to build 40 ships over nine years, including 12 2,000-tonne-class offshore patrol vessels using all-steel hull construction to enhance impact resistance.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research researcher Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said he had called for such ships in April.
The coast guard needs vessels that can withstand collisions, as its Chinese counterpart has displayed a preference for ramming tactics during encounters with Philippine ships in the South China Sea, he said.
The coast guard’s annual budget of about NT$29 billion is not sufficient for its task to serve as the nation’s first line of defense, Su said, adding that the government should take steps to raise allocations without sparking a public backlash.
The government should also develop partnerships with universities with specialized engineering departments to create a “national team” for repairing damaged undersea cables, he added.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li and Chiu Chih-jou
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