The Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal for the implementation of the “i-Taiwan 12 projects,” a major plank in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) electoral campaign platform, which called for an investment of NT$3.99 trillion (US$123.8 billion) between this year and 2016.
Ma presented the project — designed to upgrade the country’s infrastructure — in November 2007 when running for last year’s presidential election.
The projects began to receive partial funding, or NT$170 billion, in this year’s government budget drawn up by former premier Liu Chao-shiuan’s (劉兆玄) Cabinet.
The budget for the rest of the projects will now be included in the government budget and will require legislative approval.
Asked why the subject was again put on the agenda of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) dismissed allegations that it was a ploy to boost the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) image ahead of next weekend’s local government elections.
“Elections have never been a factor when the government sets its policy agenda,” Su said.
Included in the projects are plans for a fast and convenient nationwide transportation network, the regeneration of the port of Kaohsiung, a central Taiwan high-tech industrial cluster, a Taoyuan international airport “air city,” industrial innovation corridors, urban and industrial park regeneration, farming village regeneration, coastal regeneration, reforestation efforts, flood prevention and water management plans, and sewer construction.
Su said that the government hoped to attract NT$1.2 trillion in investment from the private sector, while it would contribute a total of NT$2.79 trillion.
It has been estimated that the implementation of the plan will help boost Taiwan’s GDP by 2.95 percent and create 247,000 jobs.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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