A proposal presented by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus to raise the monthly subsidy for elderly farmers by NT$1,000 (US$32.79) moved forward procedurally yesterday after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus backed off from its previous opposition.
The move came after the DPP ran a television advertisement that accused the KMT of obstructing the amendment to the Temporary Statute Regarding the Welfare Pension of Senior Farmers (老年農民福利津貼暫行條例).
Without objection, the legislative plenary session yesterday referred the DPP caucus-proposed amendment, which proposes raising the subsidy from NT$6,000 to NT$7,000 a month and would require an estimated extra budget of NT$8.7 billion, directly to a second reading, meaning it does not have to undergo a preliminary review at the committee stage.
The referral allows the DPP caucus to ask for a vote during the second reading of the amendment if lawmakers across party lines fail to reach a consensus on the bill after a one-month negotiation period ends.
“We did not want it to become an issue in the [presidential and legislative] elections in January,” KMT legislative caucus whip Chao Li-yun (趙麗雲) said when asked why her caucus changed its position on the proposal.
Chao said the KMT caucus would coordinate party members after the Executive Yuan has put forward the government’s position within a month, as promised by Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄).
Some KMT lawmakers have already initiated various amendments, with Legislator Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) suggesting raising the subsidy to NT$10,000.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) did not comment when questioned by DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) on whether the government supported a rise in the subsidy during a question-and-answer session yesterday.
The DPP caucus did not oppose the NT$11 billion budget earmarked for a 3 percent pay raise for civil servants that started on July 1 “and we hope the government will also support the increase in the subsidy for elderly farmers,” Tsai said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
RSS