The Executive Yuan yesterday unveiled a NT$210 billion (US$7.11 billion) budget proposal for COVID-19 relief, with NT$137.5 billion earmarked for economic stimulus for sectors hit hard by the pandemic.
Under the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例) the government was authorized — depending on developments amid the pandemic — to issue a second stimulus budget that does not exceed the first one, which in April had its cap increased to NT$210 billion.
The second budget was proposed because the nation’s export-oriented manufacturing industry has suffered due to a weak global economy, while the tourism and transportation industries need more relief due to restrictions on inbound visitors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) told a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The increase would be funded entirely by borrowing, the DGBAS said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs would receive the largest slice, NT$137.5 billion, of which NT$38.2 billion would be used to offset a shortage of funds for the Triple Stimulus Vouchers; NT$45 billion would be to guarantee loans companies had taken out; and NT$37.8 billion would cover salaries and operational costs of businesses in service, trade, exhibition, manufacturing and manufacturing-related industries, the DGBAS said.
The Triple Stimulus Vouchers cost NT$51.1 billion, it said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare would be given NT$37.4 billion, including NT$2 billion for research and development of COVID-19 vaccines; NT$11.6 billion for purchasing such vaccines; NT$12 billion in bonuses and reimbursements to personnel involved in disease prevention; and NT$5.3 billion for the government’s response to the pandemic, the proposal showed.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications would receive NT$9.8 billion, including NT$6.8 billion to subsidize salaries for travel agency employees, tour guides and stores at international airports; NT$2 billion for airports to cover shortfalls in landing and royalty fees; NT$400 million for transportation companies that carried people from airports after they were ordered into quarantine; and NT$200 million to hotels enlisted by local governments to accommodate people ordered into isolation, it showed.
The Council of Agriculture would receive NT$19.1 billion, including NT$18.4 billion in subsidies for fishers and NT$400 million to cover losses sustained by the seafood industry, it showed.
The duration of the budget for disease prevention has been extended, with the deadline moved from December to June next year, DGBAS Department of General Fund Director-General Chang Wei-ming (張惟明) said.
Subsidies for salaries in industries overseen by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications would be extended from the end of the third quarter to the end of the year, officials said.
The budget request is to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that due to the budget request, a second extraordinary session seems inevitable.
The extraordinary session would likely begin after the Aug. 15 Kaohsiung mayoral by-election, Ker said.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
DANGEROUS DRIVERS: The proposal follows a fatal incident on Monday involving a 78-year-old driver, which killed three people and injured 12 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said it would lower the age for elderly drivers to renew their license from 75 to 70 as part of efforts to address safety issues caused by senior motorists. The new policy was proposed in light of a deadly incident on Monday in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽), in which a 78-year-old motorist surnamed Yu (余) sped through a school zone, killing three people and injuring 12. Last night, another driver sped down a street in Tainan’s Yuching District (玉井), killing one pedestrian and injuring two. The incidents have sparked public discussion over whether seniors
RSS