Keelung Mayor Xie Guoliang, who believes in Christianity, proposed to distribute condolence money to all citizens affected by the epidemic during the election, but currently only plans to distribute it to the disadvantaged. City Councilor Zhang Zhihao quoted the Bible in the council today to ask Xie Guoliang to admit his mistakes. Xie Guoliang responded frankly that when evaluating the policy, he did not take into account the rolling adjustment of the central epidemic prevention policy, so that many policies cannot be carried out as expected. He will humbly review and apologize to the members and the public.
Yang Yuxin, Director of the Social Affairs Department of Keelung City Government, reported in the parliament today that the target of the city government’s planning and distribution is low-income and low-middle-income households in Keelung City. They were diagnosed between January 1, 2019 and December 31 last year. Those who are diagnosed with new crown pneumonia records will be issued NT$10,000 per person. Yang Yuxin pointed out that there are about 9,000 low-income and low-middle-income households in Keelung City, accounting for about 2.5% of the population of Keelung City. It is estimated that more than 3,000 people are eligible within the planned distribution range. An additional budget of NT$60 million.
City Councilor Zhang Zhihao quoted the Bible “1 John” in his question, saying that “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If the citizens admit their mistakes, the citizens will definitely pardon them, but they must first confess their guilt and be responsible for what they have said.
City Councilor Wu Huajia also pointed out that according to the city government’s plan, the restriction of the recipients and eligibility for payment, and narrowing down to low-income and low-middle-income households, is it “a dream of Guoliang”. She asked the city government to “compile and fully compile “, prioritizing the preparation of the budget required to distribute to all confirmed citizens.
City Councilor Zhang Haohan said that there are more than 176,000 infected people in Keelung City, and there is no problem in distributing them to low-income and low-middle-income households, but should only low-income and low-middle-income households need to be taken care of? Citizen, if Xie Guoliang can’t do it, he’s cheating.
City Councilor Lin Minxun questioned whether Xie Guoliang had forgotten, or was afraid to think about it. His political views changed again and again, saying that it was different from doing it. Instead of giving priority to the working population and the breadwinners of the family, the distribution was now given to low-income and low-middle-income households.
Tse Kwok-leung replied that he would humbly review and apologize to members of Parliament and the public. Xie Guoliang said that the Keelung Yinhe snack shop had an epidemic in April last year, and the death rate was very high at that time. He proposed this caring policy, thinking that the central government adopted the “7+7” policy, and the family members of the confirmed patients may be affected. As he climbed higher, he realized that the feasibility was becoming more and more difficult, so he quickly adjusted his propaganda, announcing in early June that he would no longer push this political opinion.
However, Xie Guoliang said that the council’s previous discussion on vulnerable people infected with the epidemic is adding to the hardship. Although the final resolution did not mention low- and middle-income households, if the minutes of the meeting are called up, many discussions are indeed placed on the disadvantaged. The city government will Actively taking the opinions of the councilors into consideration, but he may have a deep emotional connection with these citizens, and he should still increase the budget to take care of the low-income and low-middle-income people affected by the epidemic.
Responsible editor: Yu Weining
