Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday defended the high cost of the government’s Triple Stimulus Vouchers in response to criticism that it had breached expenditure rules in appropriating from other budgets to pay for the program.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) on Thursday told a news conference that the voucher program, which began on Wednesday last week, cost the nation NT$51.1 billion (US$1.73 billion) — far more than the government’s initial NT$2.3 billion estimate.
The government had run a deficit of NT$38.2 billion to issue the vouchers, which is to be offset by a second NT$210 billion special budget proposed by the Executive Yuan, the DGBAS said.
Photo: Chen Yun, Taipei Times
The announcement drew criticism from Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators, who yesterday held a news conference accusing the government of spending taxpayers’ money without legislative approval.
The lawmakers said that the Executive Yuan breached financial procedures, and then expects the opposition to stomach its budget proposal.
However, Su said that as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in other countries, the nation is experiencing a period of economic recovery, and people can go shopping, which should be attributed to the collaborative effort of government agencies.
Just as it did to contain the virus, the government has also adopted a proactive approach to revitalizing the economy, which has benefited 12 million people since the Legislative Yuan in March approved the special budget, he said.
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) allows agencies to tap its budget or the budgets of other agencies to carry out disease prevention or economic stimulus with the Executive Yuan’s approval, Su said.
The advance payment for the vouchers was decided to best serve the public interest, he added.
In related news, a poll released yesterday by the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) National Policy Research Foundation showed that almost 50 percent of respondents believed that the Triple Stimulus Vouchers are ineffective in revitalizing the economy.
The foundation said that the results show that the Democratic Progressive Party needs to propose another special budget to boost the economy.
The various digital vouchers that have been issued by government agencies are a way to distract from a gloomy economic outlook, the foundation said.
The foundation was referring to vouchers issued by several government agencies, including the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ “Arts FUN Go” vouchers and the Council of Agriculture’s vouchers to encourage people to visit and shop at recreational farms, as well as the Sports Administration’s vouchers to encourage people to attend events or purchase sports gear.
The survey also found that 63 percent of people are pessimistic about the economy, while 71 percent believe that the actual number of furloughed people is higher than the figures published by the Ministry of Labor.
The poll was conducted from Tuesday to Thursday last week, and collected 1,077 valid samples. It had a margin of error of 2.99 percentage points.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-Kuang
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese