In a move to mitigate the effects of rising oil prices, the government yesterday presented a three-month fossil fuel subsidy for specific consumers and announced that it would expand subsidies if prices rose to US$130 per barrel or more.
The government set a benchmark of US$118 per barrel, or NT$30.4 per liter for diesel and NT$33.1 per liter for 95-octane unleaded gasoline, for the subsidy plan.
TAXI BREAKS
Starting on Sunday, taxi drivers will receive a subsidy for a price differential against the benchmark on 95-octane unleaded gasoline up to NT$3 per liter, with a maximum of 100 liters per week.
Operators of city buses, coaches and passenger ships serving outlying islands will be entitled to a subsidy on the price differential against the benchmark set for diesel fuel.
Public transit service providers for persons with physical disabilities will receive a subsidy of up to NT$5 per liter, with a maximum of 825 liters per month, if fuel prices surge beyond benchmark levels.
Highway cargo transporters and tour bus operators will be entitled to a 25 percent exemption on fuel costs, to be collected in June, resulting in losses of NT$137.5 million (US$ 4.792 million) in tax revenues.
The government will also offer various subsidies for fishermen and farmers on fuel for fishing vessels and agricultural machinery.
POSSIBLE EXTENSION
At a press conference after the Cabinet meeting where the proposal was approved, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) said the government would review the possibility of extending the subsidy by another three months.
Starting in December, the government adopted a “gradual rise” price mechanism whereby state-owned CPC Corp, Taiwan, must absorb half of the increase in fuel prices, with consumers shouldering the other half.
“If oil prices approach US$130 per barrel, we will consider absorbing two-thirds of the price and consumers one-third,” Lin said.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from