The Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program has been finalized and Oct. 8 set as the issuance date, while an economic benefit of up to NT$200 billion (US$7.21 billion) is expected, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) disclosed the program details at a news conference in Taipei.
The vouchers would be offered in print or electronic versions to Taiwanese; their foreign, including Chinese, spouses; holders of Alien Permanent Resident Certificates; and diplomats, Su said.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
People can register for digital vouchers from Sept. 22 via 5000.gov.tw or other digital payment platforms, while registration for print vouchers is available at convenience stores from Sept. 25 and at post offices from Oct. 4, Su said.
The vouchers could be used as payment at restaurants, street markets, department stores, hotels, cram schools, concerts, sports events, tourism-related businesses and Taiwanese online retailers, as well as public schools for miscellaneous fees, he said.
Online retailers and deliverers were not excluded because they agreed to work with the government in helping local businesses and small farmers, he said.
Photo: Wang Shu-hsiu, Taipei Times
In exchange for being allowed to participate, online businesses would reduce transaction and advertisement fees charged to small businesses and farmers, Su said.
Platform compliance would be monitored by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, while Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) would help them design the technologies needed to implement their part, he said.
Barcodes and QR codes facilitating the vouchers’ use at brick-and-mortar stores and online venues would be issued to voucher recipients, he said.
The vouchers could not be used for transactions connected with stock trades, investment products, taxes, credit card fees, fines, foreign-based online retailers, tobacco products or buying other types of vouchers, Su said.
The vouchers are designed to function as a currency with a use-by date, he said.
The voucher program — which is being reviewed by the Legislative Yuan — is expected to add NT$200 billion to the economy, although the actual results could vary due to the COVID-19 situation and other factors, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said.
The vouchers would come in several denominations and each recipient would have a set worth NT$5,000, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said.
Store owners might give change for the vouchers, but would not be required to do so, she said.
Separately, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said that the vouchers would be printed using nearly the same technologies that keep nation’s currency from being counterfeited, making them difficult to fake.
The central bank would soon air public service announcements showing store owners and clerks how to spot fake vouchers, he said.
On Aug. 19, an Executive Yuan official said on condition of anonymity that holders of an Alien Permanent Resident Certificate or a diplomatic identification card would likely be eligible for the voucher program.
The 13,000 foreigners who were eligible for the Triple Stimulus Voucher program would also be eligible for the Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers, the official added.
Additional reporting by CNA and Yang Chun-hui
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS