The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday accused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of applying double standards, saying that her criticism in 2008 of former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration consumer voucher program could apply to the stimulus coupons that her administration is launching next month.
In a statement, the KMT showed a Facebook post on Nov. 19, 2008, by Tsai about the consumer vouchers, in which each person was to receive paper vouchers with a combined face value of NT$3,600 the following year in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Tsai, who was then the chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), wrote that the administrative costs of issuing the vouchers would be high, that the time it took from the policy’s finalization to its execution was relatively long, and that there were risks of counterfeit vouchers or people exchanging the vouchers for cash, KMT Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang (王育敏) said in the statement.
Tsai suggested that the government should instead offer tax rebates and provide subsidies for disadvantaged groups, and give citizens cash directly, saying that these measures would be quicker and more effective, Wang said.
The arguments Tsai made 12 years ago can be applied to today’s stimulus coupon program, Wang said, adding that the central government has taken too long to finalize its stimulus program.
Just as Tsai criticized the delays in the consumer voucher program, the central government has missed a “golden opportunity” to slow the economic decline, she said.
Counterfeit coupons are also a risk and public discussion of ways to exchange the exchange the coupons for cash is widespread, Wang said.
Tsai criticized the Ma administration’s economic policy as being “haphazard,” “disorganized” and “directionless,” she said.
Those comments are an accurate “prediction” of the “mess” that characterizes the Tsai administration’s COVID-19 relief efforts, she added.
She urged Tsai to “reflect,” and to not use a different set of standards as the ruling party, compared with when she was in the opposition.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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