Taichung City Councilors criticize the budget for the elderly care card. Lu Xiuyan: Will pragmatically increase the scope of use

Taichung Mayor Lu Hsiu-yan just turned 65 last month and has officially become the eligible group for the Elder Care Card. Taichung City Councilors Lin Qifeng, Zheng Gongjin and others criticized Lu Xiuyan at the General Assembly today for reducing the scope of use of the Elder Care Card and the budget is insufficient. 1,000 points per month, but only 1.3 billion was allocated, which is equivalent to only using 187 yuan per person. It was reduced to a "10% discount card for the elderly." A large 10% discount card was made and sent to Lu Xiuyan. Lu refused and responded that if it exceeds the budget, it will be added. Next month, the scope of use will be pragmatically increased.

Taichung Citizen Progressive Party members Lin Qifeng, Shih Chi-chang, Zheng Gongjin, Yang Dianzhong and others criticized the 10% discount card for the elderly. Lin Qifeng pointed out that former mayor Lin Jialong expanded the elderly care card to taxi users. If you use it, the fare can be fully deducted by 1,000 points. When Lu Xiuyan took office, it was first changed to 50 yuan per trip, then raised to 85 yuan, and then raised to 100 yuan in October this year, making the Respect for the Elderly Love Card a 10% discount card for the elderly.

There are about 580,000 users of the city government's Love for the Elderly card, with an annual quota of 6.96 billion yuan. However, in 2016, only 13639,000 yuan was allocated, which translates to an average of only about 187 yuan per person per month. The Card for the Elderly has become a 10% discount card for the elderly.

Lin Qifeng criticized that the Lu city government directly discounted the budget by 10%, and set restrictions on uses, making it difficult to use. Elderly points cannot be spent, and the city budget is insufficient. Points are reset to zero when they are not used at the end of the month. He questioned whether this is a welfare for the elderly, or a numbers game with restrictions everywhere. Only 1.3% of the people actually use up the points every month. About 18% of the elders use the card to take taxis, accounting for 15% of the budget expenditure. He demands that it be disclosed how many points are written off in a year and how many points are reset to zero.

Zheng Gongjin also said that the Elderly Care Card is difficult to use. The shopping festival allocated 400 million yuan, but each elder was only allocated 187 yuan for the Elderly Care Card. He asked the city government to add benefits for the elderly to buy fresh milk. Shi Zhichang also said that urban elders can use the Elderly Care Card to go to sports centers, but there is no sports center for the local elderly in Dajia, Daan, and Waipu, which have a population of nearly 130,000.

In response to inquiries, Lu Xiuyan said that Taichung City has the highest funding for the Elderly Care Card in the country, with funding reaching nearly 7 billion yuan, but many people are not using it. Taxi payments are also the highest in the country. She promised that even if there are five, there are even none. Expenditures have exceeded, and the budget will definitely be increased. During her term of office, the number of open uses has been increasing. You can also go to the National Sports Center by train. The policy for the Elderly Care Card will be pragmatically reviewed, and additional uses will be added next month.