The government plans to offer cash to people severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, adding that the budget would be greater than that allocated for consumer vouchers that were issued during former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) terms.
The Cabinet’s announcement came in wake of Ma’s criticism of the government’s plan to issue vouchers and coupons, which he said would be useless to those in need.
Cash was the only way to help people directly, Ma said.
Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said that the government did not agree with the one-time cash payments that were disbursed during Ma’s administration, which were available to all citizens, regardless of income level.
The total amount that the government plans to distribute would be more than NT$100 billion (US$3.33 billion) and would be given to the self-employed, artists, fishers, farmers and middle-to-low-income families, as well as workers of companies that have endured severe hardship due to the crisis, she said.
“However, we need the Legislative Yuan to quickly pass proposed amendments to the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例) and an increase to a special budget,” Kolas said. “People are waiting.”
“The consumer vouchers issued during Ma’s administration did not help boost the economy,” she said. “We do not want to repeat that mistake.”
“Our relief funds are designed to help those in need get through this difficult time and keep their jobs,” she added.
The cash would be given to 2.15 million workers and 870,000 disadvantaged people identified by the Ministry of Labor, an Executive Yuan source said on condition of anonymity.
The budget for the handouts would be capped at NT$10.35 million, with relief funds wired directly into the accounts of such people for three consecutive months, the source said.
The ministry has also appropriated NT$33.6 billion from the special budget to subsidize independent contractors, including tour bus and taxi drivers, the source said, adding that workers with insured monthly salaries of less than NT$24,000 and those whose salaries do not need to be taxed would receive NT$10,000 per month for three consecutive months.
Meanwhile, 40 percent of the salaries of workers at companies severely affected by the pandemic would be subsidized by the government for three consecutive months, the source said.
Each worker would receive up to NT$20,000, with a total subsidy
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
RSS