A new COVID-19 relief program offering subsidies of up to NT$2.5 million (US$89,886) to arts and cultural groups is to be launched on Monday next week, the Ministry of Culture said on Friday.
Participation in arts and cultural activities has remained low since a nationwide level 3 pandemic alert was lowered to level 2 on July 27, the ministry said.
Many disease prevention measure remain in place, and the public is uncertain over the development of Taiwan’s COVID-19 situation, it added.
As it is unlikely for arts and cultural activities to return to normal soon, the ministry has sought opinions from those working in the sector on what would be necessary to resume the activities, it said, adding that the program is the result of those discussions.
Taiwan-registered arts and cultural businesses involved in visual arts, performing arts, publishing, film and TV production, and popular music, as well as other areas, are eligible to apply, it said.
The ministry said that the program comprises three kinds of subsidies: for in-person or online arts and cultural exhibitions and performances; creative work; and talent development.
Each individual or group can apply with one project, it said, adding that the subsidy for each project is capped at NT$2.5 million.
The program would subsidize select expenses, including production and curation costs, marketing costs, costs of launching services on online platforms, renting venues and equipment, conducting rehearsals and performances, and paying lecturers and trainees, the ministry said.
The program would also subsidize expenses related to COVID-19 prevention, such as the purchase of rapid test kits, conducting polymerase chain reaction tests and other supplies, it said.
Groups and individuals can apply online from 9am on Monday next week to Sept. 22, the ministry said.
Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) said that he is looking forward to the program helping the arts and cultural sector continue to create works.
The program would help prevent the loss of artistic talent during the COVID-19 pandemic and also help advance the sector’s digital capabilities, Lee said.
The new program follows the ministry’s “Arts and Culture Relief 4.0” program, for which applications for individuals closed on July 26 and applications for businesses are to close on Aug. 31, Lee said.
As of Friday, more than 30,000 individuals had benefited from the “Arts and Culture Relief 4.0” program, he added.
That number was higher than the number of people who received COVID-19 relief from the ministry last year, he said, adding that this was due to the severety of a domestic COVID-19 outbreak in May.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
RSS