A National Policy Foundation forum yesterday called for more extensive stimulus and relief measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 and help those affected by the pandemic.
The meeting by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-affiliated think tank was attended by experts, KMT lawmakers, and representatives from the 15 KMT-controlled cities and counties.
With the introduction and passage in the Legislative Yuan of policies and bills related to the pandemic, the party and the 15 cities and counties should coordinate their responses toward different issues, KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said as he opened the discussion.
Photo: CNA
The “highlight” of the government’s stimulus and relief package is a series of “stimulus vouchers,” for which a budget of NT$2.3 billion (US$75.65 million) has been set aside, foundation consultant Shih Wei-chuan (施威全) said.
However, people should not be required to stay at a hotel to receive the vouchers, he said, adding that city and county governments should be allowed to assign the channels through which the vouchers are distributed.
Local governments should also be given the authority to decide the shops or venues — on top of the ones chosen by the central government — where the vouchers can be used, he said, citing differences in spending patterns across different cities and counties.
A fear of going outside and being exposed to the virus might prevent people from using the stimulus vouchers, Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said.
Relief efforts should instead focus on ensuring that businesses do not lack funds to pay workers to avoid unemployment, he said.
Compared with South Korea, Singapore, the UK and the US, the scale of Taiwan’s stimulus and relief program is “very small,” Shih said.
While South Korea’s economy is only 2.8 times that of Taiwan’s, it has pledged more than 10 times as much in relief funds as Taiwan, Soochow University School of Big Data Management professor Chu Yun-peng (朱雲鵬) said.
The government should provide special support to businesses that do not lay off staff, despite being affected by the outbreak, he said.
Chu also suggested that the government set up dedicated hotlines that businesses can call to inquire about the government’s stimulus and relief measures.
April 15 would be a “very important date,” he said, adding that it is the day the Executive Yuan is expected to submit a report on the progress, execution and reception of its NT$60 billion coronavirus budget to the Legislative Yuan.
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