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.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS