The government has decided to intervene in Miaoli County’s financial woes. That’s the word from Cabinet Spokesman Sun Lih-chyun on Monday.
Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang has asked the Cabinet for a bailout, since his county is heavily in debt and is having trouble paying salaries to civil servants.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo on Monday called a meeting to discuss how best to offer assistance.
Sun said the county will have more than 9.9 billion Taiwan dollars in revenues in the second half of this year. Since the operating and personnel costs combined only require 7.7 billion Taiwan dollars, Sun said the county should be able to get by.
Sun said that the government intervention is the first of its kind in Taiwan’s history and that the statistics office will help Miaoli County reshape its financial structure. However, he made it clear that the Cabinet will not loan the county any money.