CPC to offer fuel subsidies

CPC Corp., Taiwan’s state-run oil firm, will immediately offer a subsidy of NT$3 (US$.09) per liter of diesel fuel purchased by each public transport firm and NT$2 (US$.06) per liter of gasoline consumed by taxi drivers to help counter fuel price hikes, Economics Minister Steve R.L. Chen said. However, fuel subsidies wont be granted to taxi drivers who have hiked or are poised to raise their taxi fares. As a result, taxi drivers in at least Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County will be denied the subsidies because they just raised their fares. He noted that the subsidy program is designed to encourage more people to use mass transportation at a time of spiraling international oil prices. The subsidies will be canceled once CPC fuel prices drop to a lower level of NT$27.7 (US$.84) per liter for 92-octane unleaded oil and NT$23.6 (US$.72) for diesel fuel, Chen said. (July 26, 2007)