New Taipei to Evaluate Budget for Youth AI Tool Subsidies Following Councilor Requests

During a New Taipei City Council interpellation session on the 28th, KMT Councilor Chen Wei-chieh requested the city government to follow Hsinchu City's lead in subsidizing AI tool subscriptions for young people. Hsinchu currently provides up to NT$3,000 per person annually, with NT$6,000 for low-income youth under its 'AI Pilot Youth Digital Tool Subsidy Project.' Chiu Chao-mei, Director of the New Taipei Youth Bureau, responded that there are currently no such plans, as the bureau focuses on free courses and certification subsidies to reach a larger audience with existing funds. Chiu noted that most AI tools have free tiers sufficient for general office work. However, Chen argued that providing 'bait' (subscription fees) is as important as providing the 'fishing rod' (training) to ensure New Taipei's youth do not fall behind in digital transformation. Chiu ultimately committed to performing a budget simulation for the proposed subsidies within one month.