The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a special budget of NT$229.83 billion (US$8.07 billion) for the third stage of the government’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
The funding for the third phase, which began this year and runs through next year, was approved after NT$169.65 million was deducted from the original budget.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Oct. 6 last year told a legislative session that funding for the third phase would be allocated to infrastructure projects slated to be completed by 2025 to accelerate Taiwan’s digital development, and improve the urban-rural allocation of resources to boost rural infrastructure development.
Photo: CNA
The legislature passed a special budget for the first phase of the program in 2017 and 2018, slashing it by NT$1.8 billion from the original budget of NT$108.9 billion, and approved NT$223 billion for the second phase in 2019 and last year after deducting NT$4.5 billion from NT$227.5 billion.
The government launched the program on July 7, 2017, to build infrastructure for national development over the next 30 years that would facilitate transportation, water supplies, green energy and smart technology, as well as to balance advancements in urban and rural areas.
It also provides incentives to encourage births, improve food safety and nurture talent.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS