The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a bill aimed at establishing a foundation in Taiwan to facilitate youth development and encourage greater youth participation in public affairs.
The draft youth basic act, pending legislative approval, seeks to provide a general legal framework and establish fundamental principles for the public sector at central and local government levels to take a “youth perspective” into account and “facilitate youth development.”
In particular, the bill would mandate central and local governments establish mechanisms for the participation of people aged 18 to 35 when developing policies, regulations and programs.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan.
Under the bill, the central government would be required to release a “youth policy white paper” and update it every four years based on national development goals and societal needs.
Chen I-tsung (諶亦聰), deputy head of the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Youth Development Administration, told a Cabinet press briefing yesterday that the first white paper would be drafted as soon as February next year.
The Executive Yuan would establish a board convened by the premier and tasked with formulating youth policy and coordinating efforts to implement youth-related measures, the bill says.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
In related news, the MOE announced phase two of the “Taiwan Global Pathfinders Initiative” is open for applications, offering 625 spots in 100 cases for young people to study performance arts in Seoul, artificial intelligence (AI)-related industries in Germany, or the aerospace industry in France.
The program, first launched by the Executive Yuan in November last year, aims to provide Taiwanese with more opportunities to pursue their dreams.
The ministry continued the program this year, budgeting NT$10 billion (US$312.3 million) over the next four years, with an emphasis on people aged 15 to 30, Chen said.
The program this year is divided into two phases; the first saw 54 approved out of 296 applicants, and assisted another 157 to participate in the program, Chen said.
The second phase involves providing 652 spots for young people through a selection of programs, such as performance arts in Seoul and precision mechanics or AI-related industries, targeting students aged 15 to 17, she said.
Another program, allowing individuals to learn or intern at companies in the French aerospace industry, would be made available to people aged 18 to 30, she added.
Meanwhile, the amended Article 17 of the Income Tax Act (所得稅法) states that since last year, the special deduction for preschool children is relaxed and applicable to children aged six or under, with the rates going up to NT$150,000 for the firstborn, and NT$225,000 for each child after the first, Chen said.
The amended Article 36-2 of the Act for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (中小企業發展條例) allows companies to file for a 200 percent wage deduction if they hire Taiwanese aged 24 or under, or 65 or above, Chen said.
The same amendment also saw wage-increase expense deduction rates increase from 130 percent to 175 percent for baseline employees, encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to offer higher wages and retain talent, Chen said.
As per President William Lai’s (賴清德) directives, the government has provided up to 620,000 spots for affordable education as of March, and is also providing childcare, childraising, and education subsidies, she said.
Starting last year, more than 90 percent of publicly funded childcare facilities have provided after-hours services and additional childcare services during the winter and summer vacation periods for an extra fee, averaging NT$35 per hour for after-hours services and NT$2,000 per month during the winter and summer vacations, Chen said.
Since August last year, 54 public and non-profit kindergartens have also provided a trial program of providing short-term child care services, she added.
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