The 1988 hotline set up for people to inquire about the government’s COVID-19 relief and stimulus programs would take questions about the planned NT$6,000 (US$196) cash handout from tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.
The new service is aimed at helping people understand the multiple ways the one-time handout can be collected, the ministry said in a statement.
The hotline would also be used to prevent people from falling victim to fraud schemes, it said.
The telephone service, which was established in 2020 and has been available from 8:30am to 6:30pm every day, would still help people access COVID-19 relief, the ministry added.
The cash handout is part of a NT$380 billion economic stimulus package funded by a tax surplus from last year. Lawmakers are to vote on approving the handout on Friday.
Once the spending package has been approved, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would sign it on Saturday, which would allow the fund to be released after five working days, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said on Thursday.
The proposed stimulus package also includes funding for the Labor Insurance Fund, the National Health Insurance and state-run Taiwan Power Co, which have all been operating at a loss, an official said when the Cabinet unveiled the spending plan on Feb. 23.
Cash incentives would be offered to foreign nationals to spur inbound tourism, subsidies for public transportation and financial assistance to low-income households, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, would also be covered in the spending package.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
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