Starting on Thursday next week and continuing into May, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is to hold policy briefings around Taiwan to inform the public about its proposals, particularly its plan to issue a universal NT$10,000 tax rebate, the party announced today.
All ranks and levels of party members are to participate in these meetings, with the number of sessions increasing on a rolling basis depending on demand, party members told a news conference in Taipei.
The main theme would be the party’s ability to safeguard people’s wealth through policy proposals, such as a NT$10,000 universal cash payout, the party said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
This comes as campaigns to recall campaigns against dozens of KMT legislators continue.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) this week also announced plans to launch a series of townhall meetings across Taiwan, starting tomorrow.
The DPP government has over-collected more than NT$1.87 trillion (US$56.73 billion) in taxes between 2020 and last year, with more than NT$528 billion extra collected last year alone, KMT Organizational Development Committee director Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) said.
Although the DPP said the funds would go toward paying down national debt, only about NT$390 billion has gone toward that purpose, and nobody knows where most of the remaining funds have gone, Hsu said.
The KMT proposal for a NT$10,000 payment would only cost NT$230 billion, leaving the rest of the funds to be used for social welfare programs, Hsu added.
The party’s youth movement would start grassroots campaigning as part of the nationwide briefings, said KMT Legislator Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞), who organizes KMT Studio.
The party’s youth teams, including the KMT Youth League, Department of Youth Affairs and other groups, are to go around streets and markets to defend democracy and freedom within the Republic of China, Ko said.
The party would also seek to use music and visuals to engage the public in addition to the briefings, KMT spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) said.
The party has already released an artificial intelligence-generated song, with lyrics that say: “Return the money! Return the money! Give it back DPP,” Yang added.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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