A group concerned with youth poverty issues yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) recent announcement that the student loan repayment period would be extended for economically disadvantaged students, saying the move would not have much of a concrete impact.
“Ma’s policy announcement on extending the student loan repayment period does not touch the core of the issue, because for those who are unable to repay their debts, it only makes them suffer longer,” Youth Wants to be Rich executive member Chen Ping-hui (陳秉暉) told a press conference held at the Legislative Yuan. “To resolve the issue from its roots, a ‘repayment according to capacity’ measure must be implemented.”
At present, college graduates repaying student loans for eight semesters must do so in 12 years, while, according to Ma’s announcement, college graduates may now repay their student loans over a period of 16 years beginning on Feb. 1 next year.
As for those who have completed a doctorate using loans, they may repay their loans over a period of 44 years.
Currently, college graduates may suspend loan payments for three years if they earn less than NT$25,000 (US$833) per month. Under the new system, the threshold would be raised to NT$30,000.
“Ma made the decision as if he were trying to get a bargain at a traditional open-air market. That should not be how a national policy is made,” Chen said. “A more reasonable reform is to implement a ‘repayment -according to capacity’ measure.”
“Repayment according to capacity” means that a college graduate should make monthly loan repayments based on each individual’s monthly income, said Chen Fang-yu (陳方隅), another member of the youth group.
“If the person earns more, he or she pays more, if the person earns less, he or she should pay less. And if the debtor could not make more than a threshold, he or she should be allowed to suspend payment until his income exceeds the threshold,” he said. “And no matter what happens, the repayment period should not last more than 25 years after graduation, otherwise the government should take care of the rest of the payment.”
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
RSS