Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday approved relief measures totaling at least NT$60 billion (US$2 billion) for sectors affected by an outbreak of COVID-19 in China, including coupons that can be used at night markets and shopping districts.
Relief funds would come in two forms: appropriation from existing budgets of agencies concerned with relief efforts and a planned special budget, which would have a ceiling of NT$60 billion, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said.
The Disaster Prevention and Protection Act (災害防救法) stipulates that government agencies at all levels should appropriate existing budgets to cover more urgent needs for disaster relief, she said, adding that relief funds allocated this way would be disbursed immediately.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
The special budget would be sourced from the government’s surplus revenue and funds freed up by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, she said.
The Executive Yuan is drafting a bill for a special relief act, which would serve as the legal basis for the planning of the special budget, Kolas said, adding that legislation would be finalized and submitted to the Legislative Yuan before the start of the new legislative session.
If passed, the duration of the special act and budget would be one year, she said.
Among the plans approved by Su was a Ministry of Economic Affairs proposal to distribute coupons to people when they shop at night markets, shopping districts, traditional markets and retail stores.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said that the ministry had proposed allocating NT$2 billion of the proposed special budget for the coupons, but the actual sum would be decided after assessing relief plans proposed by other agencies.
A timetable for the issuance of the coupons has not been set, as that would depend on the Central Epidemic Command Center determining when would be suitable for people to go out shopping, she said.
Asked how the coupons would differ from NT$3,600 consumer vouchers given to people in 2009 by the administration of then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Wang said that discounts, rather than face value, would be ascribed to the coupons, meaning that they can only be used when the total value of merchandise purchased reaches a certain sum.
The coupons, along with loans, subsidized loans and loan guarantees planned by the ministry for the relief efforts, would make up NT$16 billion of the proposed special budget, she said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications proposed a relief plan totaling NT$50 billion, including NT$20 billion in aid for the transportation and tourism industries, which is to be covered by the special budget, and a NT$30 billion tourism upgrade and reinvention plan, which is to be proposed under the next phase of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Huang Yu-lin (黃玉霖) said.
Regarding economic losses suffered by the agricultural and fisheries sectors amid diminishing exports to China and reduced sales due to the postponed start of the next academic semester because of the outbreak, the military would increase its procurement of local produce, while the Council of Agriculture would redouble efforts to market seafood and fruit to Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia until late April to make up for the shortfall in exports, council Department of Planning Director-General Tsai Sheng-fu (蔡昇甫) said.
The council has proposed allocating NT$6.8 billion from the special budget to cover eight preferential interest rates for fishers who need to take out loans or extend debt repayment periods, he said.
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland
SECURITY: Grassroots civil servants would only need to disclose their travel, while those who have access to classified information would be subject to stricter regulations The government is considering requiring legislators and elected officials to obtain prior approval before traveling to China to prevent Chinese infiltration, an official familiar with national security said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) in March announced 17 measures to counter China’s growing infiltration efforts, including requiring all civil servants to make trips to China more transparent so they can be held publicly accountable. The official said that the government is considering amending the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to require all civil servants to follow strict regulations before traveling to China.
RSS