TAIPEI: The government will not extend a program that has provided supplementary income to working-class families that earned low wages during the recession, a top official announced yesterday.

The "working subsidy" project, which was launched October last year, will not be extended after it expires at the end of December this year, as Taiwan's economy is expected to bottom out of recession and post positive growth next year, internal affairs chief Jiang Yi-huah said.

Under this special welfare project, the government offers special subsidies for households that are not eligible to receive regular government financial aid for low-income families, but face economic hardships due to the global economic downturn and the ensuing domestic economic recession.

The monthly subsidy offered range between NT$3,000 and NT$6,000 ($93 to $187) for people whose annual household income falls below NT$300,000 and who have less than NT$3.9 million in real estate holdings. Many people have received subsidies under this program.

Jiang said "premier" Wu Den-yih has promised that if necessary, the government will use its second reserve fund to finance similar special welfare projects for families in need of aid.

Jiang made the remarks at a Legislative Yuan session where ruling Kuomintang Legislator Cheng Ru-fen grilled him on why the internal affairs authorities' 2010 budget for social welfare services falls below this year's level.

In response, Jiang explained that the 2010 social welfare budget will decrease by NT$19.2 billion ($596.27 million) from this year's level mainly because a sum of NT$17.6 billion needed for the "working subsidy" project has been deducted.

Meanwhile, Jiang said that as of the end of June, 39,543 local families had benefited from a special emergency aid project which was also launched last year at the height of the global financial crisis.

"This project will be continued this year and integrated with other emergency relief programs," Jiang said.

Regarding a long-term care subsidy project for disabled elderly people, Jiang said the government's subsidy ratio will be raised from the current 60 percent of the needed fund to 70 percent from next year.

The program offers subsidies for at home nursing care for elderly people with mild disabilities for up to 25 hours per month; 50 hours for those with medium disabilities; and 90 hours for those with serious disabilities.

Disabled seniors from low-income families currently receive full subsidy; while those from medium-low income families receive 90 percent subsidy; and those from average families receive 60 percent subsidy.

Jiang said the ratio for ordinary families will be raised to 70 percent from 2010.

As of the end of June, 34,527 elderly people benefited from this long-term care subsidy program.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 10/13/2009 page2)