The government’s planned “stimulus coupons” would come in paper form as well as the originally proposed electronic version, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said yesterday.
The ministry in March proposed to issue coupons in a bid to boost consumer spending amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are taking a more diverse approach to the issue of coupons ... to make it as convenient as possible” for consumers, Shen told reporters prior to a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee.
“This means that the coupons would be distributed in paper and digital forms,” he said, adding that the coupons would also come in the form of discounts offered through mobile payment methods.
Asked if the coupons would be issued by the end of this month, Shen said that would depend on the Executive Yuan’s review of the plan this week.
“The second quarter is ideal for issuing the coupons ... the government can palliate a [potential] decline in exports by bolstering the local market,” National Central University economics professor Dachrahn Wu (吳大任) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
“We managed to achieve positive growth in GDP last quarter thanks to transferred orders as production in China shut down ... but our manufacturing sector is now facing dwindling market demand from Europe and the US, which make up more than 30 percent of global consumption,” Wu said.
This would have a heavy impact on local industries, Wu said, predicting a drop in export orders for this month.
“To stimulate spending locally, the coupons would have to resemble cash as much as possible,” he said, adding that there should be minimal restrictions on the usage of the coupons.
Wu also proposed setting an early expiration date on the coupons in a bid to maximize their effect on the economy.
“An ideal deadline would be August ... we cannot have people forgetting them or spending them next year, [as] that would be missing the point,” he said.
Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (中華經濟研究院) vice president Wang Jiann-chyuan (王健全) proposed a more intricate plan for the coupons.
Wang on Sunday told the state-run Central News Agency that the coupons should be distributed based on levels of income.
Wang suggested that discounts for hotels and cultural events be offered to well-off people, while cash be distributed to financially disadvantaged people to maximize participation.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS