The government currently has no plans of issuing a second round of consumer vouchers, but will look into the possibility when it conducts an overall assessment of the impact of the first round of consumer vouchers by September, the Council for Economic Planning and Development said yesterday.
The council said the government might not issue a new round of vouchers because of financial constraints, but added that if it did eventually return to the idea, a decision would not be made before the end of September, the deadline for the use of the first round of vouchers.
“If domestic business conditions rebound in the fall, the government won't need to issue consumer vouchers again,” the council said in a statement.
The council said it had commissioned an institute to carry out a survey of the shopping vouchers' overall effect on the local economy during the first quarter of this year. The results of the survey will be made public later this month and will serve as policy reference for the government.
In related news, Chunghwa Post Co said that 134,974 people, or 0.58 percent of qualified recipients, failed to pick up their consumer vouchers by the April 30 deadline.
A total of 99.42 percent of eligible participants picked up their vouchers in the two-stage distribution process — at designated pick-up points during the first stage and at post offices during the second stage — the state-run company said.
Less than NT$500 million (US$15 million) in consumer vouchers, out of a total of NT$83.75 billion, were not picked up.
The unclaimed vouchers will be sent back to the Ministry of the Interior, which will be responsible for destroying them after May 12, a Chunghwa Post executive said.
Ministry figures showed that as of Wednesday, nearly NT$67.4 billion, or 81 percent of the total vouchers issued, had been cashed in by businesses.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
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