The Executive Yuan is mulling additional coupons to revitalize sectors hit by COVID-19 that do not require people to stay at a hotel or bed-and-breakfast (B&B) before they can use the coupons, and the budget for the coupons would exceed the NT$2.3 billion (US$76.29 million) already earmarked, Minister Without Portfolio Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs had budgeted NT$2 billion for the coupons, which was raised to NT$2.3 billion after the Ministry of Culture’s plans were included.
Under the Executive Yuan’s current plan, each Republic of China (ROC) citizen would receive NT$800 worth of coupons when they stay at a hotel or B&B, which can be used at night markets, other markets, shopping districts and cultural and art venues, Kung said.
Photo: CNA
Asked by reporters whether the government plans to issue coupons that could be used without having to present proof of a hotel stay, as previous tourism-industry booster coupons linked to hotel and B&B stays did, Kung said that the possibility was under consideration.
If additional coupons were to be introduced, the budget would exceed what has been earmarked, he said, although he declined to provide any specifics.
Asked when the coupons would be distributed, Kung said when the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) deems it suitable for people to go shopping.
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
Later in the day, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement that its coupons, which would have a face value of NT$200, would not be bound to hotel stays.
Its coupons would be redeemable at more than 10,000 venues, stores and performances nationwide — including movie theaters, record and bookstores, and concert venues — and when purchasing tickets via nine online ticket booking services, which have teamed up with more than 6,700 local performing groups, it said.
In related news, the Executive Yuan green-lit eight sets of regulations to complement 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), each tendered by a central government agency, as well as three accompanying regulations laid down by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The complementary rules include qualifications for businesses eligible for compensation, while the regulations set the daily compensation for people quarantined or taking care of quarantined family members at NT$1,000.
Employers who voluntarily pay workers who are quarantined or on leave to take care of a quarantined family member would receive an income tax break equivalent to twice the salary payout during the quarantine period.
People who are convicted of hoarding resources that the CECC has deemed as necessary for containing the COVID-19 outbreak or those who drive up the prices of such items could face a prison sentence of up to five years.
The health ministry on Wednesday declared N95 respirators an item necessary for COVID-19 prevention efforts, and more items could be added at the ministry’s discretion, Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said yesterday.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS