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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Premier talks strategy with caucuses
Premier Su Tseng-chang, third left, and officials visit the Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） caucus at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
By Sean Lin / Staff reporter
Lawmakers yesterday expressed concerns regarding disease prevention and relief measures to Premier Su Tseng-chang （蘇貞昌）, who was visiting opposition caucuses after new legislators took office last month.
Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） caucus whip Lin Wei-chou （林為洲） in a meeting with Su asked the Executive Yuan to implement measures to make sure that home quarantines are strictly enforced so that they do not become a weak spot in disease prevention efforts.
KMT caucus secretary-general Chiang Wan-an （蔣萬安） lauded the Executive Yuan for planning to unveil a special relief bill tomorrow, calling for nonpartisan efforts to help industries affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 in China.
Hopefully, relevant agencies would make the arrangements necessary to evacuate Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan, China, the outbreak’s epicenter, as well as other Chinese cities hit by the coronavirus, many of whom are eager to return home, Chiang said.
Taiwan People’s Party caucus whip Lai Hsiang-ling （賴香伶） said that due to increased production of masks, the TPP caucus hopes that the rationing policy could be relaxed so that each National Health Insurance cardholder could purchase seven — instead of two — masks weekly.
She also asked Su to instruct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strongly protest Mauritius’ ban on travelers who visit Taiwan 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival in the island nation.
Su said that relief measures in response to the outbreak would be carried out in a way that is fair and immediately effective, adding that the Executive Yuan’s bill would cover all aspects relating to relief funds and reviving sectors affected by the disease.
A relief plan, to be financed from tax surpluses from previous fiscal years, is to be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review after the Cabinet’s approval. If passed by the legislature, it would be in effect for one year.
Su attributed Mauritius’ ban to its failure to understand that China and Taiwan have different governments and disease-prevention systems, which has led it to associate Taiwan with China, Hong Kong and Macau.
“Overall, people strongly feel that if Taiwan cannot make it clear to the world that Taiwan is Taiwan, not a part of China, then the Taiwanese government would continue to be subject to unfair treatment, even though it has effectively taken care of its people and contained a disease,” Su said.
The government would step up its efforts to prevent “undue political influence” and misinformation from hurting the nation’s interests in the international community, he said.
New Power Party （NPP） caucus whip Chiu Hsien-chih （邱顯智） said that the Executive Yuan’s bill should not only address companies, but also workers who are involuntarily furloughed due to economic losses incurred by the disease.
NPP caucus secretary-general Chen Jiau-hua （陳椒華）, an associate professor at Chia Nan University, told Su that she taught microbiology for 30 years before becoming a lawmaker, but had never encountered a virus that could be transmitted without the host displaying any symptoms.
She asked Su to have the Executive Yuan clarify its stance that “healthy people need not wear masks” and more clearly explain to the public when they should wear masks so they can better protect themselves from the disease.
On Monday, Minister Without Portfolio Kung Ming-hsin （龔明鑫） said that small and medium-sized enterprises （SMEs） affected by the coronavirus would have access to credit as part of a NT$60 billion （US$1.99 billion） government proposal to support domestic businesses.
In terms of loan relief, the plan would allow the affected companies to extend the repayment periods of existing loans and subsidize interest up to 1.06 percent, Kung said.
If a firm that needs a short-term cash infusion or working capital and promises to not reduce wages or lay off employees, it would be eligible to receive a credit line of up to NT$5 million for loans fully guaranteed by the government, Kung added.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
