Vice Minister of the Interior Lin Join-sane (林中森) said yesterday that the government would allow an extra 7,000 young people to apply for the government’s preferential interest rate home loan program.
The program will drive investment of up to NT$90 billion (US$2.74 billion) in the real estate market, Lin said.
Lin said the offer would bring the number of people benefiting from the program, which was open to applicants from between Feb. 16 and March 27, to about 17,907, if all of the allocation is taken up.
He made the announcement at a press conference at the Government Information Office briefing the media on the government’s social welfare programs.
Under the preferential home loan program, which lasts two years, an applicant renting an apartment can receive NT$3,600 per month from the government as part of his or her rent allowance, while a home-buyer can obtain a NT$2 million loan with a zero interest rate for the first two years.
The government initially planned to let 10,000 home-buyers apply for the preferential home loan.
Meanwhile, Lin said that another social welfare measure introduced by the ministry that had been warmly received was an artificial teeth subsidy of up to NT$40,000 for senior citizens from low and middle income families, the first time such a scheme has been implemented nationwide.
Lin said the government has earmarked NT$230 million for the program this year and about 94 percent of the budget had been spent as of last month, benefiting 7,000 senior citizens.
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday said he would not attend the official Double Ten National Day celebrations for the first time this year, as its English name, “Taiwan National Day,” implies “Taiwan independence.” Writing on Facebook, Ma said he has attended every National Day celebration since entering public service 40 years ago, but “with an exceedingly heavy heart,” has decided to reject this year’s invitation. For the past three years, the government under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has used “Taiwan National Day” for the event’s official English-language title, leaving the “Republic of China” nowhere to be found, he said. The move
RUNWAY UPGRADES: Airports and ports mainly scattered around southwestern Japan are being given major overhauls, primarily serving as civilian-use facilities Japan has chosen 33 airports and ports as candidates for improvement to enhance military capabilities, with a particular focus on infrastructure that could be utilized in a Taiwan emergency, according to a recent report in Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun. Citing the Japanese government’s fiscal budget proposal for next year, the newspaper said Toyko is to name some facilities as essential bases and receive funding for upgrades in line with the revamped national security strategy published last year. According to an unofficial policy document drafted last month and reviewed by the Nikkei, the Japanese government designated 14 airports and 19 ports for improvement, including
RSS