DPP legislators Zhang Honglu (from left), Huang Shijie, Guo Guowen, He Xinchun, Wang Meihui, and Zhong Jiabin held a press conference today, calling for the relaxation of old farmer subsidies and wealth exclusion standards.

(Provided by Guo Guowen Congress Office)

[Reporter Xie Junlin/Taipei Report] Democratic Progressive Party legislators Guo Guowen, Wang Meihui, Zhong Jiabin, He Xinchun, Zhang Honglu, and Huang Shijie held a press conference today (20th), pointing out that under the situation of rising prices and housing prices, "welfare subsidies for elderly farmers The "wealth exclusion clause" regulated in the "Provisional Regulations" is still the threshold for legislation in 2011 and has not kept pace with the times.

In this regard, Guo Guowen proposed a draft amendment to the law; he emphasized that the review cycle of the old farmer's allowance should be changed from 4 years to 2 years; the wealth exclusion clause should also have a "self-examination" mechanism, rather than relying on amendments every time.

Guo Guowen pointed out that in the past 10 years, the price index has risen from 93.58 to 104.7, an increase of 11%; the housing price index has soared 58%, from 79.75 to 126.33; The threshold is set at RMB 500,000 for non-agricultural personal income or over RMB 5 million for real estate.

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Guo Guowen believes that according to the current housing prices and price levels, the wealth exclusion clause should be raised to 550,000 yuan for personal income from non-agriculture, or 8 million yuan for real estate income, which is in line with the status quo.

He emphasized that in recent years, housing prices and prices have risen sharply, coupled with the impact of extreme weather on agriculture, which has doubled the pressure on farmers' lives. Therefore, he proposed to amend the law to ensure that the wealth exclusion clause will not eliminate economic weakness under inflation.

Wang Meihui said that although the Ministry of Labor has already targeted those who are already receiving old farmer subsidies in 2018, due to the announcement of land appreciation or higher housing standards, those with a total value of housing and land exceeding 5 million yuan can continue to receive subsidies.

However, it is still unable to solve the problem of those who have not yet joined the recipients of subsidies, so they are in favor of amending the law and relaxing the criteria for excluding the rich.

Zhong Jiabin said that if the source of the wealth exclusion provisions of the current regulations can be traced back to, the original basis is the standard when the "Provisional Regulations on Welfare and Living Allowance for the Elderly" was enacted in 2002.

He called on the Council of Agriculture to make a countermeasure and fully analyze the calculation conditions of the wealth exclusion clauses of other ministries so as to achieve the goal of national policy consistency.

He Xinchun said that in the post-epidemic era where everything is rising, the adjustment speed of many current laws and regulations to support the disadvantaged cannot keep up with price fluctuations, resulting in the poor people not being able to enter the social assistance system. Central rental subsidies, social housing rentals, applicable thresholds for student loans, etc. should also be adjusted on a rolling basis to help the disadvantaged in society.

Zhang Honglu believes that the relaxation of wealth exclusion standards is in line with the needs of the times, and it also demonstrates the original intention of the interim regulations, so that those who need care can obtain resources.

He said that we are standing on the land cultivated by our predecessors. It is the most basic gratitude to not forget our roots. It is the responsibility of legislators to revise outdated regulations.

Huang Shijie pointed out that the current wealth exclusion provisions of the old farmers' allowance are still calculated according to the price index 10 years ago, which obviously needs to be revised to reflect the current socio-economic situation, effectively protect the rights and interests of the elderly farmers, and implement the legislative spirit of the original enactment of the regulations.