A final review of draft amendments to the 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) was yesterday delayed after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus withdrew from cross-caucus negotiations in protest of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus “twisting” its bailout proposals.
The Legislative Yuan yesterday morning held a second round of cross-caucus talks, and the DPP had scheduled for the amendments — which last week proceeded to second reading — to be reviewed during an afternoon plenary session.
The proposed amendments, if passed, would serve as the legal basis for the Executive Yuan’s proposal to raise the ceiling of the special budget for COVID-19 prevention, relief and recovery to NT$210 billion (US$6.98 billion).
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
As soon as the meeting began, KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) presented a chart posted online by the DPP caucus, which contains wording that criticizes the KMT for pushing for the “indiscriminate” issuing of cash handouts to help people through the pandemic, without proposing any provisions for excluding high-income earners.
The KMT caucus was clear that the sizes of the proposed cash handouts should be inversely proportional to the amount of tax each household pays, but the DPP caucus deliberately twisted the KMT’s proposal, Chiang said, adding that it would refuse to proceed with the negotiations unless the DPP caucus retracted the chart and apologized.
The KMT caucus has proposed budgeting NT$100 billion for cash handouts, KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said.
According to the proposal, households that are exempt from paying income tax would receive NT$20,000. Households subject to the 5 percent tax rate would receive NT$15,000; those subject to the 12 percent tax rate would receive NT$10,000; and those subject to the 20 percent tax rate would receive NT$6,000. Households subject to a rate of 30 percent or higher would not be eligible for a handout.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that the logic behind the KMT’s proposal was “fundamentally flawed” because the tax rates were calculated based on last year’s incomes, and some people have only become jobless this year due to the pandemic.
In comparison, the Executive Yuan’s proposals target employers and workers who are hardest hit by the pandemic and are in most urgent need of relief, Ker said.
The KMT caucus held a news conference at which it unveiled its proposal while negotiations were ongoing on Monday, but the DPP had not been informed of them, he added.
The two caucuses then engaged in a heated exchange, prompting Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) to announce a break. Members of the KMT caucus later withdrew from the meeting.
The KMT’s withdrawal was tantamount to reneging on its agreement to forfeit the one-month period during which a caucus may freeze a bill, Ker said.
He said that he would ask Yu to call another round of negotiations tomorrow to hopefully pass the amendments on Friday.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS