In a move to mitigate the effects of rising oil prices, the government yesterday presented a three-month fossil fuel subsidy for specific consumers and announced that it would expand subsidies if prices rose to US$130 per barrel or more.
The government set a benchmark of US$118 per barrel, or NT$30.4 per liter for diesel and NT$33.1 per liter for 95-octane unleaded gasoline, for the subsidy plan.
TAXI BREAKS
Starting on Sunday, taxi drivers will receive a subsidy for a price differential against the benchmark on 95-octane unleaded gasoline up to NT$3 per liter, with a maximum of 100 liters per week.
Operators of city buses, coaches and passenger ships serving outlying islands will be entitled to a subsidy on the price differential against the benchmark set for diesel fuel.
Public transit service providers for persons with physical disabilities will receive a subsidy of up to NT$5 per liter, with a maximum of 825 liters per month, if fuel prices surge beyond benchmark levels.
Highway cargo transporters and tour bus operators will be entitled to a 25 percent exemption on fuel costs, to be collected in June, resulting in losses of NT$137.5 million (US$ 4.792 million) in tax revenues.
The government will also offer various subsidies for fishermen and farmers on fuel for fishing vessels and agricultural machinery.
POSSIBLE EXTENSION
At a press conference after the Cabinet meeting where the proposal was approved, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) said the government would review the possibility of extending the subsidy by another three months.
Starting in December, the government adopted a “gradual rise” price mechanism whereby state-owned CPC Corp, Taiwan, must absorb half of the increase in fuel prices, with consumers shouldering the other half.
“If oil prices approach US$130 per barrel, we will consider absorbing two-thirds of the price and consumers one-third,” Lin said.
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. The single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 400,000 and 800,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, saber-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. A single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 800,000 to 400,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, sabre-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
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