The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it plans this year to propose amendments to the Public Assistance Act (社會救助法) to better reflect the number of people living in poverty.
About 2.2 million people who live below the poverty line have been sidelined by social welfare policies because they do not conform to the government’s definition of a low or middle-to-low-income household, civic groups say.
Homeless Taiwan Association member Wang Chin-wei (王今暐) said he last week determined the 2.2 million figure by looking at 2021 data, which showed that the median disposable income that year was NT$325,948.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Sixty percent of that number is NT$195,569, which he said he used to determine the “poverty line.”
Twelve percent of the population, or about 2.8 million people, had annual incomes that were on average lower than the poverty line, Wang said.
Taking away the 600,000 people already registered as being in the low or middle-to-low-income bracket, 2.2 million people remained who did not qualify for help under the social welfare system, he said.
Compared with the UK, the US, Japan and South Korea, Taiwan’s definition of “poverty” is strict, and the government should review the eligibility of individuals for subsidies, he said.
Ministry of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) agreed.
He said that “fringe groups” are being disqualified from being considered low-income because they own real estate, adding that the standards should be relaxed so that more people in need can receive benefits.
The Support Plan for Self-Use Housing Loans by Individuals Under Middle-Class was created to help people in mid-to-low income households who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic take out loans to purchase a home, he said.
Like people who rent, mid-to-low-income groups also need government assistance, he added.
Department of Social Assistance and Social Work Director-General Su Chao-ju (蘇昭如) said that social problems are multifaceted and the Public Assistance Act is not the only way to address these issues.
The act is the foundation of many social welfare policies, and the ministry recognizes that it is past due for amendment, she said, adding that it is meeting with local governments and other agencies to solicit opinions.
Draft amendments should be created this year, she said.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
UNITED: The premier said Trump’s tariff comments provided a great opportunity for the private and public sectors to come together to maintain the nation’s chip advantage The government is considering ways to assist the nation’s semiconductor industry or hosting collaborative projects with the private sector after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips exported to the US, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Trump on Monday told Republican members of the US Congress about plans to impose sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, copper and pharmaceuticals “in the very near future.” “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before,” Trump said at the Republican Issues Conference in Miami, Florida. “They
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
TAIWAN DEFENSE: The initiative would involve integrating various systems in a fast-paced manner through the use of common software to obstruct a Chinese invasion The first tranche of the US Navy’s “Replicator” initiative aimed at obstructing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be ready by August, a US Naval Institute (USNI) News report on Tuesday said. The initiative is part of a larger defense strategy for Taiwan, and would involve launching thousands of uncrewed submarines, surface vessels and aerial vehicles around Taiwan to buy the nation and its partners time to assemble a response. The plan was first made public by the Washington Post in June last year, when it cited comments by US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue
RSS