At least 7.3 million people in Taiwan will benefit from a fourth round of subsidies the government is issuing to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
The legislature is holding an extraordinary session until Friday next week to review a NT$260 billion (US$9.39 billion) relief package proposed by the Cabinet, with Su briefing lawmakers on details of the package yesterday and today.
Su said that NT$73.4 billion is for COVID-19 control measures, such as purchasing and developing vaccines and medication.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The remaining NT$186.6 billion is to go to subsidies to individuals and businesses, Su said.
The subsidies for individuals, which will benefit an estimated 7.3 million people, include a one-time subsidy of NT$10,000 to NT$30,000 for farmers, fishers, tour guides, taxi drivers and self-employed people, among others, Su said.
Those payments began being issued on Friday last week, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Education Bureau via CNA
Also included in this category is a one-time subsidy of NT$10,000 per child for families with children of elementary-school age or younger and teenage students with disabilities, which is to be rolled out on Tuesday next week, Su said.
Subsidies for businesses include one-time payments to those in industries hit hard by the pandemic, including the transportation, tourism, retail and education sectors, as well as the arts, the Cabinet has said previously.
Although the legislature has to approve the relief package, the Cabinet has already begun issuing some subsidies under the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例), which was promulgated last year.
The act stipulates that although legislators have to review and approve COVID-19-related spending by the Cabinet, authorities can begin funding emergency disease prevention and relief measures before the review is completed.
The government has extended the deadline for income tax filings, and paying water and electricity bills, among other measures to reduce immediate financial burdens, Su said.
Prior to his report, Su was asked by reporters what he thought of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposal to issue cash payments of NT$10,000 for each citizen.
Giving every one of the 23 million Taiwanese NT$10,000 would cost NT$230 billion, and as “we have limited money,” the government needs to use it carefully and on the most urgent things, Su said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS