More than 20,000 people ordered government-issued stimulus vouchers in the first five minutes after they went on sale at 9am yesterday, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said.
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said that by about 9:30am, more than 160,000 people had ordered the Triple Stimulus Vouchers, adding that although there were initial connection problems when the system launched, they were quickly resolved.
The vouchers, which can be used from July 15, are being issued to encourage spending to make up for poor consumption in the first five months of the year caused by COVID-19 fears.
Photo: CNA
Under the NT$50 billion (US$1.69 billion) program, which is not open to foreign residents unless they have a Taiwanese spouse, people pay NT$1,000 to receive NT$3,000 in vouchers.
The vouchers can be used to buy a wide range of goods and services, but come with several restrictions.
The initial ordering period is to run through Tuesday next week. Orders can be placed at convenience stores nationwide or on the Web site of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Small and Medium Enterprise Administration at 3000.gov.tw.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
There is to be a second ordering round from Aug. 1 to 7.
People who order vouchers by Tuesday next week can pick them up at convenience stores from July 15 to July 31 by showing their National Health Insurance (NHI) card or national identification card.
People can also purchase them directly from post offices nationwide from July 15 to Dec. 31, by showing their NHI cards or other identity documents.
Another option is for people to register their credit card on the voucher program Web site. After they use their card to spend NT$3,000 at designated stores or outlets, they would receive a refund of NT$2,000.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) urged the central government to take action to prevent long lines forming outside post offices after July 15.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang (王育敏) said that the central government should stagger the distribution of the vouchers to avoid long lines in the summer heat.
People could purchase vouchers from post offices on different days, based on the last digits of their national identification card numbers, she said.
If elderly people were to wait in line for an hour, they could faint or risk heatstroke, she added.
As for underprivileged groups or people with disabilities who are unable to wait in line, the KMT said that NT$2,000 should be distributed directly to them.
To make it easier for office workers to purchase vouchers, Chunghwa Post associate manager Kuo Chun-yang (郭純陽) said that the company plans to keep all of its 1,299 offices open on two Saturdays, July 18 and July 25.
A virtual map showing inventories of vouchers at post offices would be updated every two hours, Kuo added.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS