A proposal on cash handouts and various subsidies passes third reading

A proposal on cash handouts and various subsidies passes third reading

2023-02-21

A proposal to issue cash handouts from last year’s tax surplus passed a third reading at the legislature on Tuesday. The premier said the next step will be to send the proposal’s budget for review, and if things go smoothly, money could be dispersed in March at the soonest. An economist says that the cash handouts will boost economic growth.

A proposal on the spending of the NT$380 billion 2022 tax surplus passed a third reading at the legislature Tuesday. The proposal calls for the surplus to be distributed as NT$6,000 cash handouts to the public, subsidies for Taipower, for the national healthcare system, and for monthly metro passes as well as other economic measures.

Premier Chen Chien-jen, who was in Southern Taiwan for the day, was delighted at the news of the proposal being passed.

Chen Chien-jen
Premier
Oh it passed? That’s wonderful! That’s worthy of applause. We will definitely send the budget to the legislature on Thursday for review.

The next step will hinge upon consensus with the opposition KMT. If things go smoothly, handouts could be dispersed as soon as the end of March.

Eligible individuals will have three options for receiving the handouts. One option will be registration through a government website using an NHI card. The money is then transferred to the bank account specified during registration.

A second option allows withdrawal of the funds from an ATM at one of eight major banks. This option is available at 24,000 ATMs nationwide, which is roughly 80% of all ATMs in the country. The third option is to receive the funds directly from a service counter at Chunghwa Post. However, when asked to comment on when funds will be dispersed, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin had no specific response.

Kung Ming-hsin
National Development Council
We’ve been doing all the preparatory administrative work, and now we are just hoping that the budget will pass as easily as the proposal itself did.

Chiou Jiunn-rong
National Central University
If this NT$140 billion in handouts turns into consumer spending of that amount, or double that, it will be a boon for economic growth.

The researcher said that economic growth will rely on domestic demand this year, which will likely be boosted by the cash handouts.

6000元在路上! 立院三讀最快三月底能發放

2023-02-21

立法院今天(21)三讀通過發現金特別條例，編列3800億預算，除了普發現金，還要減輕學貸、補助交通月票等等。行政院長將會在週四送出預算，再經立法院審查，如果各黨有共識、放棄協商冷凍期，有機會在三月中三讀通過，最快三月底就能發放。

疫後發現金特別條例，三讀通過，編列3800億預算，除了普發現金6000元，還要挹注健保、台電、補助交通月票。

人在南部的行政院長陳建仁，聽到特別條例順利通過，也喜形於色。

[[行政院長陳建仁]]
“通過了，喔，太好了，我們應該為這個鼓掌一下。那我們一定會在禮拜四把預算送到立法院。”

只要朝野有共識，民眾最快三月底就領到錢。

領取方式大致可分為三種，打開官方網站、登錄健保卡卡號和銀行帳戶資料，6000元能直接入帳。

或是拿著提款卡，八大公股行庫和其他四間金融機構總共2萬4千多台，近八成ATM都能領。或者持證件到郵局臨櫃領。但是發放的確切時間，國發會主委龔明鑫對細節守口如瓶。

[[國發會主委龔明鑫]]
“相關的這些行政準備工作，大概已經陸續在做一些準備，我們希望特別預算也可以像特別條例這樣順利。”

[[中央大學經濟學教授邱俊榮]]
“1400億的支出，如果能夠超過成數一到兩倍的效果的話，對整個經濟成長大概一定會有助益。”

學者表示，今年經濟成長率得靠內需市場拉抬，發現金對GDP是有幫助的。

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Executive Yuan to decide on transport ministry’s travel pass proposals on Thursday

The Executive Yuan is expected to come to a decision on Thursday about a proposal for three different kinds of travel passes proposed by the transport ministry. One of the proposals expands on an extant travel pass in Taipei and New Taipei, extending its scope to Taoyuan and Keelung, and adding more means of transportation such as TRA trains. The other two proposals are for urban areas in Central Taiwan and Southern Taiwan, with monthly passes costing NT$1,000.

In Taipei and New Taipei, commuters can take the MRT, buses and Youbikes as many times as they like with a monthly travel pass costing NT$1,280. Three new travel pass proposals from the transport ministry could be approved this Thursday: with a cheaper NT$1,200 travel pass that covers Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan, and two other passes for Central and Southern Taiwan.

Member of public
It’s quite attractive. I often go to Keelung. It’d be cheaper and more convenient.

The proposals are as follows:

The pass for Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan is similar to the monthly travel pass currently in use in Taipei and New Taipei. It’ll be NT$80 cheaper and expand to cover Keelung and Taoyuan, as well as coach buses and TRA trains.

The other two travel passes cover Taichung, Changhua and Nantou, and Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung. They’ll be usable on all public transport, including MRT systems, buses, light rail, public bikes and TRA trains. The price is expected to be NT$1,000.

Member of public
It’s quite interesting. Firstly, it’s NT$80 cheaper. And also, you can use it to go to more places. You have more travel options.

Member of public
I can’t ride a scooter, but I have to commute a lot. If it’s cheaper and it also includes trains, then it’s worth the price.

Residents in Northern Taiwan are pleased with the proposals. Not so much in Taichung, where city buses are free, or in Changhua and Nantou, where there is no MRT. Over in the south, people say they tend to simply ride a scooter or drive a car to get around, and so the plan isn’t especially attractive.

Voice of Lee Ker-tsung
Consumer Protection Committee
There is a lot of interest in the pass for Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan. But we are concerned that if there isn’t a thorough analysis on demand, it may not convince that many people to stop driving, limiting its effectiveness. Or perhaps we have to analyze problems regarding the plan’s sustainability after the first three years pass.

The transport ministry is requesting a budget of NT$20 billion over three years to subsidize transport service providers. Though the policy is hoped to make life easier for commuters, a question mark remains over how it will actually be received.

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A US delegation led by Silicon Valley’s Ro Khanna meets Tsai, talks trade and defense

The past year has seen a growing number of congressional delegations from the U.S., the latest having just met with President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday. During the meeting, Democratic Representative Ro Khanna spoke about shared values, trade ties with Silicon Valley, and cyber security. Tsai said Taiwan aims to deepen ties and military exchanges with like-minded partners including the U.S.

President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday received a delegation led by U.S. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna. Tsai expressed her thanks to the delegation for its support of Taiwan.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
On behalf of the people and government of Taiwan, I’d like to thank all of the U.S. congressional representatives who have taken concrete actions to support Taiwan through their visit here today. We believe that Taiwan and the U.S. can seek more opportunities for cooperation, together defending our shared values of freedom and democracy.

Ro Khanna
US lawmaker
We are here to affirm the shared values between the United States and Taiwan, the shared commitment to democracy, a commitment to freedom.

Khanna, along with Republican Representative Tony Gonzales, who also joined the delegation, are members of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, and have long focused on Taiwan’s security. Together with Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill, the group will push the proposed U.S.-Taiwan Advanced Research Partnership Act, which aims to strengthen national security and cyber security in the two nations.

Tsai Ing-wen
President
Faced with the challenges of the post-pandemic era, Taiwan and the U.S. can leverage each other’s strengths to build a more resilient technology sector. Also, on the topic of security, Taiwan continues to strengthen military exchanges with the U.S. In the future, we will be more active in our cooperation with the U.S. and other likeminded partners, to meet the challenges of expanding authoritarianism and climate change.

Ro Khanna
US lawmaker
We come here to strengthen the economic relationship. Representing Silicon Valley, I particularly appreciated the meeting with Dr. Morris Chang, on how we can continue to build the economic partnership on technology, and also of course the partnership on military and defense.

Amid numerous congressional delegations, trade talks and U.S. bills on exchanges with Taiwan, the Taiwan-U.S. relationship appears set to become even stronger in the year ahead.

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Hualien doctors celebrate astonishing recovery of cardiac arrest patient

Doctors in Hualien are celebrating the astonishing recovery of a cardiac arrest patient who was unconscious for two months. Mr. Huang collapsed while running a marathon in Hualien last October. When he arrived at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, he wasn’t breathing. But over several months of treatment, he made an astonishing recovery. He was welcomed back to the hospital last week, to give thanks for his second chance.

Mr. Huang黃 makes a heart sign. He’s back at Hualien Tzu Chi慈濟 Hospital to thank the doctors who saved his life. When he was brought to the hospital in October, his heart had stopped and he wasn’t breathing. He was unconscious for more than 60 days.

Mr. Huang
Marathon runner
I was unconscious for the first 60 days or more. When I heard that, I thought I should probably give up. It’s because of the perseverance of the medical team and my family that I was able to come through.

Mr. Huang was running the Pacific Valley Marathon in Hualien last October, when he suddenly collapsed at a rest station. When he reached the hospital he had no vital signs. Emergency care brought him back to life, but he had internal bleeding in many organs. He was put on ECLS, a type of life support, three times, and received seven different types of antibiotics. The medical team tried countless different treatments. At one point, the attending physician turned to god in prayer.

Chu Hsin-kai
Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital cardiologist
We had reached the limits of medicine. Only a miracle could get the patient through at that point. The emergency treatment had gone on too long, so all his membranes were damaged. He had bleeding in his intestines. We transfused almost 200 bags of blood.

Wife of patient
Dr. Chu朱 never gave up, even in the most difficult moments. I’m so grateful.

The head of Mr. Huang’s team says the hardest period was the 90 minutes between him collapsing and receiving emergency treatment. Keeping a patient’s brain functioning under those conditions is a delicate task. One false step, and the patient may never wake up.

Lin Hsin-jung
Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital superintendent
At one time, we were second-to-last, nationally, in terms of our success rates for reviving patients who had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Now, after many years, with the hard work of Superintendent Wang王, we are no. 2 in the country.

Mr. Huang received 103 days of care from the hospital, from the darkest moments through to his unlikely recovery. He says that, thanks to the medical team, he now has high hopes of coming back to Hualien one day – to run a marathon.

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Lawmakers call for justice for Uyghurs with activist Rushan Abbas

Lawmakers from across party lines were on Tuesday joined by Uyghur human rights activist Rushan Abbas. Together they spoke up against China’s abuses against the Uyghurs, a minority ethnic group in northwest China. Abbas shared reports of the brutal treatment that Uyghurs have suffered under Beijing authorities. She warned that if Taiwan should ever be annexed by China, a similar future could await the Taiwanese.

Rushan Abbas in green stands with lawmakers from across party lines. The activist has for many years advocated for the Uyghur people in China, exposing China’s atrocities against the ethnic group.

Rushan Abbas
Uyghur human rights activist
When I quit my full time job and became a full time activist, they sentenced her in 20 years under terrorism-related charges. She’s not a terrorist.

Abbas spoke on her sister’s detention by Chinese authorities, and listed out reports of atrocities committed by China to oppress Uyghurs. Among them are sending almost 1 million children to orphanages to separate them from their parents. Women are forced into marriages with Han Chinese families, and those who refuse are sent to concentration camps. While the men in a Uyghur family are in concentration camps, Chinese surveillance personnel force their way into the household and rape the women. She said such a future could come to Taiwan if China annexes the country. She quoted China’s ambassador to France, who said in an interview that Beijing would impose “reeducation” on the island after unification.

Rushan Abbas
Uyghur human rights activist
Dictatorship will not allow people to live in freedom. Instead they want to put them into the concentration camps to reeducate. And that is the future that they have for Taiwan in their dreams.

Claire Wang
New Power Party lawmaker
In order to stay in power, the Chinese government uses all sorts of means to impose control on the population. Those means include bodily harm and illegal surveillance. It is heartbreaking.

From the Uyghur detention camps, to extradition laws in Hong Kong, the lawmakers decried China’s human rights abuses.

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Tainan campaigners call for renaming of Zhongzheng Roads

Now, to the question of Taiwan’s most common road name. Can you guess what it is? There are 316 roads in Taiwan named Zhongzheng Road, after the former President Chiang Kai-shek. Zhongzheng is just one of several names the former generalissimo used in his lifetime, and many Taiwanese institutions bear the name. But now, a petition to remove his name from the streets is gathering momentum in Tainan. Campaigners say that Chiang Kai-shek’s legacy of authoritarian rule should not be celebrated. But lots of people who live on Zhongzheng Roads don’t want to change their addresses.

There’s a Zhongzheng Road in West Central District, and a Zhongzheng Road in Yongkang District. In fact, across Tainan’s 37 Districts, there are 38 roads which share the name. Only GPS can save visitors from the confusion.

But what GPS can’t resolve is the historical and political controversy over the name. The director of Siong Buan-sing Memorial Hall, Shang Yu-fang, has launched a petition calling for all the Zhongzheng Roads in Taiwan to be renamed.

Shang Yu-fang
Siong Buan-sing Memorial Hall
In Germany, they don’t have any Hitler Roads. But Zhongzheng Road is the longest road in Taiwan. And in any case, our country has enacted a transitional justice law.

In 2022, Tainan City government made plans to rename the first 100 meters of the Zhongzheng Road on which the National Museum of Taiwan Literature sits. It was to be christened “Tang Te-chang Boulevard”, after the Tainan lawyer and 228 Incident victim. But some local residents objected to the proposal.

Resident of Zhongzheng Road
It’s a lot of hassle, of course it is. We’d have to change our labels, a lot of our promotional materials. I don’t think it’s not worth the hassle.

Resident of Zhongzheng Road
Zhongzheng Road reads nicely. I’ve lived here more than 70 years. It’s not right to change it.

Resident of Tainan
This is a question of right and wrong. We should get rid of this mistake.

Tien Ling-hu
Tainan City government spokesperson
The stance of the city government is that we’re strongly aligned, and we want to support residents in conducting this survey. The administrative process of renaming the road can only be carried out with consent from two thirds of the local households.

The campaign to remove Zhongzheng Road is hoping to draw on widespread public support for their petition. But Tainan City points out that renaming roads is a privilege of District Offices. The residents of the road in question must opt in – this is not a campaign that politicians can easily push through.

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Update on Kuo Keng-hung, special service agent paralyzed in 2015

Some of our viewers might remember the story of Kuo Keng-hung, a Special Service agent injured in 2015. A tragic training accident left the elite military officer paralyzed from the neck down. But now, Kuo has learned to use a computer with an assistive device. He edits his own videos and keeps in touch with loved ones online. Kuo and his family work to stay optimistic, making the most of all the time and opportunities they have.

Kuo uses a joystick with his mouth to operate this computer. A former officer of the Special Service Command Center, Kuo was accidentally injured in a firearms exercise in 2015. A bullet hit a vertebra in his spine, leaving him paralyzed.

Special service agents drill a face-to-face cross shootout. They move sideways while shooting. In the next video, the two lines of officers move in opposite directions, shooting at target papers behind their colleagues. A moment’s distraction and the bullet will hit their colleague. None of them are wearing bulletproof jackets. In 2015, Kuo was the commanding officer leading this exercise when the accident occurred.

Kuo’s father finds it hard to speak as he recalls the incident. But both his father and mother say the worst times are already behind the family.

Father of Kuo Keng-hung
In the last few years we’ve adapted just fine. He knows what we want in our hearts.

Mother of Kuo Keng-hung
He wants us to lead our own lives, and he guides us to get out. When there are upheavals in the wider family, he’s always the one to comfort us.

Kuo Keng-hung
Former Special Service Command Center officer
I have to use this opportunity now to say the things I want to say. Technology is always advancing. Perhaps tomorrow or next week there’ll be a new medical technology. But until there’s a new technology, maintaining my health is the most important thing.

With the help of volunteers, Kuo has learned to use devices like this to access the computer. He edits videos like this one, and can stay in touch with children over video calls. The family stay positive about the future, with the hope that one day a medical breakthrough will allow him even more mobility again.

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