To stabilize domestic prices in response to the Middle East conflict, the Executive Yuan yesterday announced that electricity rates would remain unchanged from this month through September, adding that fuel prices would also stay flat this week.
To maintain price stability, the top priority is to ensure normal production and distribution operations, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has been instructed to require CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) to maintain stable production and secure sufficient supplies, including increasing the availability of light oil, to keep prices steady.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Lee quoted Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as directing the Ministry of Agriculture to implement all measures to stabilize the agriculture sector, including supplies of fertilizers and fuel used in farming and fishing.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications will, as prescribed, initiate subsidies for aviation fuel on domestic routes, she added.
The economics ministry’s electricity price review committee has decided that electricity rates would remain unchanged from this month to September, Industrial Development Administration Deputy Director-General Tsou Yu-hsin (鄒宇新) said.
Gasoline and diesel prices are also to stay the same this week, Tsou said, adding that prices for bottled liquefied petroleum gas and household natural gas would not increase this month.
“We have reviewed the shipping schedule for gas deliveries from April to June, and 31 percent of shipments would be affected by the conflict in the Middle East. However, we will ensure that the safety stock remains above 11 days,” he said.
“We have worked to adjust shipping routes so that shipments leave via the Red Sea, or we use spot purchases to make up the difference,” Tsou said.
“Of this adjustment, about 46 percent is handled by rerouting exports through the Red Sea, and 54 percent through spot purchases,” he said.
“Overall, through these efforts, our strategic safety stock is currently above 140 days,” he said.
Lee also quoted Cho as saying that there are still a number of Taiwanese nationals in the Middle East region who require special attention.
The government will make every effort to ensure their safety, so there are no security concerns, she added.
However, as the conflict is ongoing, Taiwanese nationals are urged not to travel to the Middle East to avoid potential incidents or emergencies, Cho was quoted as saying.
Additional reporting by AFP
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
BIG YEAR: The company said it would also release its A12 chip the same year to keep a ‘reliable stream of new silicon technologies’ flowing to its customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its newest A13 chip is to enter volume production in 2029 as the chipmaker seeks to hold onto its tech leadership and demand for next-generation chips used in artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance-computing (HPC) and mobile applications. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, also unveiled its A12 chip at its annual technology symposium in Santa Clara, California. The A12 chip, which features TSMC’s super-power-rail technology to provide backside power delivery for AI and HPC applications, is also to enter volume production in 2029, a year after the scheduled release of the A14 chip. The technology moves
ESWATINI TRIP: The ‘irresponsible actions’ of three African nations set a dangerous precedent and they should be held accountable, a US representative said The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday urged Washington not to normalize Chinese pressure, while a US lawmaker called on the US government to hold countries accountable for yielding to Beijing’s pressure to block President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned trip to Eswatini. Lai had been scheduled to visit Eswatini to attend birthday events for King Mswati III of Eswatini this week, but on Tuesday, the eve of his planned departure on Wednesday, the Presidential Office said the trip was “suspended” after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unexpectedly withdrew overflight permission. “China reportedly pressured Mauritius, Seychelles, and Madagascar to deny airspace access
RSS