A large share of the subsidies for the second phase of “disease-prevention tours” have been spent on tours to five destinations — Hualien, Yilan, Taitung and Penghu counties, and Taichung — Tourism Bureau data showed yesterday.
The subsidies allocated through the program which began on July 1 are to encourage people to travel to domestic destinations after the nation had effectively contained the COVID-19 pandemic, the bureau said, adding that tour groups and independent travelers were entitled to the subsidies.
The bureau dismissed reports about a funding shortage, saying that there is still sufficient funding to cover subsidies to be paid out until October.
Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times
“To subsidize accommodation for independent travelers, funding is to be allocated to local governments in different stages. If they have used up 80 percent of funds allocated to them, they can apply for a second round of funding,” the bureau said.
As the numbers of travelers to the east coast and the nation’s outlying islands have increased this month, causing disruptions to local residents, the bureau said that people should travel on weekdays
They should also consider destinations in northern and central Taiwan, it said.
In related news, domestic flight carriers are on Monday next week to begin taking reservations for flights to the nation’s outlying islands for the Mid-Autumn Festival between Oct. 1 and Oct. 4, and the Double Ten National Day holiday between Oct. 9 and Oct. 11.
Residents of Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties have priority access to the flights during both holidays, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said yesterday.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS