Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday asked legislators to support a third relief package proposed by the Executive Yuan, adding that the additional funding would help sustain the domestic travel subsidy program until the end of next month.
“We have shifted our priorities and managed to produce NT$1.6 billion [US$54.26 million] from the funds allocated to us through the first and second relief packages to fund the second phase of the disease-prevention tour subsidy program until the end of this month,” Lin said after attending a news conference on a road safety campaign.
“We hope that the upcoming legislative session will quickly review the third relief package so that funds can be seamlessly funneled to the subsidy program and sustain it until the end of next month,” he said.
The domestic travel subsidy program is a good policy and has been carrying the economy forward, Lin said, adding that its effects have been boosted 10 times with the combined use of the Triple Stimulus Vouchers.
The nation is in the off-peak travel season, as primary to high-school students have returned to school, but domestic travel subsidies are available until the end of next month, Lin said.
Asked about an incident on Sunday, in which four people died after being swept away by a flash flood while camping in Nantou County, Lin said that the area where the accident occurred is not listed on the Tourism Bureau’s campsite registration platform and is not open to campers.
Police and prosecutors are investigating the matter, he added.
“Nearly 10 government agencies own and manage campsites around the nation. As such, the Tourism Bureau has established a platform allowing them to register the campsites under their charge, and only those listed on the platform are legal. There are rules governing the management of campsites as well,” he said, adding that the Tourism Bureau would coordinate with these agencies to better regulate campsites around the country.
In other news, the Tourism Bureau yesterday said that it would continue providing subsidies to hoteliers offering accommodation to people who are required to undergo mandatory quarantine, adding that the subsidies would be available to hoteliers until Dec. 31.
Previously, rules governing the management of the subsidy program stated that the program would expire on Aug. 31, and hoteliers would receive a daily subsidy of NT$1,200 per room.
“However, as the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to show signs of easing in other countries and the nation still needs accommodation for disease-prevention purposes, we have revised the rules to extend the availability of the subsidies to Dec. 31,” the bureau said, adding that the new rules would retroactively take effect on Sept. 1.
The new rules also state that hoteliers would continue to receive a daily subsidy of NT$1,200 per room before Oct. 1, but the subsidy would be reduced to NT$800 per room from Oct. 1.
Hoteliers would only receive subsidies if the guests are citizens or permanent residents of Taiwan, the rules say.
To find government-approved quarantine hotels, people can go to taiwanstay.net.tw or ask their local government for assistance, the bureau said, adding that its Web site only lists hotels that are willing to disclose their names.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching