Taiwan Stimulus Vouchers and Relief Packages Discussion

[Marco]

@Brianjones

@Marco

People are products of their environment. We shouldn’t fault them as they grew up in the dictatorship times. The correct thing to do is educate

My parents also grew up in a very different and very conservative society. So did all my in-laws. They were able to change their minds on things and still remain very open to his day and welcoming to new ideas and foreigners living there.

They were, sure. Many people here too. But…

1. The concept of foreign nationals and foreign races in Taiwan is a relatively new phenomenon.

2. When you know in the back of your head that you and the people around you are leading similar lives with similar outcomes, it’s easy to forget. It’s out of sight, out of mind.

If you fault them, they will resist and you will be worse off. Educate.

Chinese culture has always been insular. Many Asian cultures have been insular. It needs time.

Approach with negativity, they will dig in.

Not everyone is able to change their minds so easily.

[Andrew]

@Brianjones

My parents also grew up in a very different , very homogeneous and very conservative society. So did all my in-laws. They were able to change their minds on things and still remain very open to his day and welcoming to new ideas and foreigners living there. I don’t think that’s an excuse.

Mine too. My grandma has spent almost all of her life in a small, predominantly white, northern English former mining town and seldom travelled outside. Still, when I first moved to China she saw a “Chinese” family in the bank and wanted to go over and talk to them, but ultimately ended up just grinning at them from across the bank like a maniac.

I mean, they were probably Vietnamese or something, but whatever.

[Marco]

@Andrew

@Brianjones

My parents also grew up in a very different , very homogeneous and very conservative society. So did all my in-laws. They were able to change their minds on things and still remain very open to his day and welcoming to new ideas and foreigners living there. I don’t think that’s an excuse.

Mine too. My grandma has spent almost all of her life in a small, predominantly white, northern English former mining town and seldom travelled outside. Still, when I first moved to China she saw a “Chinese” family in the bank and wanted to go over and talk to them, but ultimately ended up just grinning at them from across the bank like a maniac.

I mean, they were probably Vietnamese or something, but whatever.

But I doubt your grandmother was thinking about their citizenship rights because it’s not really a topic of discussion when meeting someone.

The experience is similar here. It’s out of sight and out of mind.

[Britt]

@slawa

Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers” (振興五倍券) officially available on Oct. 8

Wait, how are they 吾倍劵 if they’re free? Where does it say (not on Taiwan News) that they’re free? Either way, I’m happy about it!

But I do hope that the government remembers that ARC holders are taxpayers too. Ugh. Sorry guys.

[Andrew]

@Marco

But I doubt your grandmother was thinking about their citizenship rights because it’s not really a topic of discussion when meeting someone.

There is definitely a difference. I think my grandmother would probably assume they were primarily “British” rather than something inherently different on account of their race, as is almost universally the case here. It’s one of the outcomes of living in an inhomogeneous society.

[Marco]

@Andrew

@Marco

But I doubt your grandmother was thinking about their citizenship rights because it’s not really a topic of discussion when meeting someone.

There is definitely a difference. I think my grandmother would probably assume they were primarily “British” rather than something inherently different on account of their race, as is almost universally the case here. It’s one of the outcomes of living in an inhomogeneous society.

Right, often Taiwanese assume we became Taiwanese through marriage anyways or assume that us APRC (that felt good to say for once) people are just living the same lives doing the same thing.

It’s the inherent back-of-the-head assumption.

[Steve4nLanguage]

@Marco

us APRC (that felt good to say for once)

Nice!

[qwert_zuiop]

@Marco

Chinese culture has always been insular. Many Asian cultures have been insular. It needs time.

I feel it’s not only an issue in Asian cultures. Even in Europe, political parties who’s programs basically boil down to “no immigration, no money for foreigners” are gaining popularity - especially with the older generations.

So the idea that the government should only spend money on “nationals” or “citizens” is not only a thing in Asia. The only difference is that around here, it’s not seen as “politically incorrect” as it is seen in Europe or some parts of the US…

[SunWuKong]

@Marco

People are products of their environment. We shouldn’t fault them as they grew up in the dictatorship times. The correct thing to do is educate.

You’ll have to educate the educators. The DPP has long been nativists and Hokkein-centric. Don’t expect anymore crumbs out of them than it suits them.

Also, isn’t it a little patronizing to think we need to “educate” another culture with our way just because we decided to live here?

I don’t like the way things are either, but who am I to change it and who says I wouldn’t make things worse, carving out rights for myself and my group that had an overall negative impact on everyone including my group?

[Brianjones]

@SunWuKong

don’t like the way things are either, but who am I to change it and who says I wouldn’t make things worse, carving out rights for myself and my group that had an overall negative impact on everyone including my group?

I don’t understand your logic, really. This is just about fairness and equality.
Any individual around the world has the God given human right to open their Goddamned mouth and express their opinion. Anybody who is against that is against human rights.

Taxpayer rights will be one place to start.

But any resident should be qualified to access vouchers that are actually for stimulus and can only be spent in the local economy within a certain time period. If there’s any scheme where EVERYBODY IS A WINNER…this could be it.

[Belgian_Pie]

Finally got the 30% discount for the last 3 months on the elctricity bill.

[afterspivak]

Better late than never!

Guy

[acedubs]

How. Omg I’m still having problems. Do you have a picture of the bill showing the adjustment?

[SunWuKong]

@Belgian_Pie

Finally got the 30% discount for the last 3 months on the elctricity bill.

Congrats! And this thread about stimulus vouchers took a weird turn.

[afterspivak]

We are all trying to find our way in this weird and changing world.

Guy

[Belgian_Pie]

@acedubs

How. Omg I’m still having problems. Do you have a picture of the bill showing the adjustment?

They just give it, we called last month to ask about it. It’s for businesses with receipts, they said we need to wait until the next tax collection period, bi-monthly sales tax July-August.

[Belgian_Pie]

@SunWuKong

Congrats! And this thread about stimulus vouchers took a weird turn.

It’s a stimulus for businesses and others probably. Because we got the 40K stimulus for May-June they didn’t give us the 30% electric bill discount. Now for July-August they did.

[slawa]

Different ways to get the vouchers:

https://5000.gov.tw

[slawa]

Winkler Partners

[afterspivak]

Extending slawa’s post from Winkler Partners—they have probably the clearest explanation of how this latest scheme works:

Taiwan’s stimulus vouchers explained

Summary

Author: WP

In response to the Covid-19 outbreak earlier this year, Taiwan’s government announced a second stimulus program to encourage consumer spending (the first program ran between July and December 2020). While most of the information about the program is in Chinese, some foreign nationals are eligible to receive stimulus vouchers. Here, we explain what the stimulus program involves, who is eligible and how eligible recipients can apply, receive, and spend the vouchers.

Voucher Program

2021′s stimulus program involves the government issuing TWD 5000 (approx. USD 180) in vouchers to eligible citizens and residents. Unlike the TWD 3000 stimulus vouchers last year, these vouchers are free and do not require users to pay TWD 1000 to receive them. Vouchers are issued in either paper or digital format. Paper vouchers can be used at restaurants, stores, hotels and other participating businesses nationwide before 30 April 2022. They will be issued in the following formats: TWD 200, TWD 500 and TWD 1000. Digital vouchers come in three formats; those linked to credit cards, those linked to stored value cards, and those linked to mobile payment platforms. They can also be used to make purchases on participating eCommerce sites.

Eligibility

The following people are eligible to receive stimulus vouchers:

1. Taiwanese nationals, including nationals without household registration but with a Taiwan residency card or national ID
2. Foreign spouses of Taiwanese nationals
3. Alien Permanent Residence Card (APRC) holders
4. Foreign diplomats

Vouchers for foreign diplomats will be issued directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the time of writing, other foreign nationals in Taiwan, including ARC and Employment Gold Card holders, are unfortunately not included in the program.

Important Dates

1. Digital vouchers can be applied for anytime between 22 September 2021 and 30 April 2022.
2. Paper vouchers can be applied for online from 25 September 2021.
3. Paper vouchers can be applied for from convenience stores from 9am on 25 September to 10pm 1 October 2021 and collected between 8 October and 21 October 2021. A second application period runs from 9am on 25 October to 10pm on 31 October with vouchers collected between 8 November and 21 November 2021.
4. Paper vouchers can be applied for at most branches of Chunghwa Post from 4 October 2021 and collected between 12 October and 30 October 2021.
5. All vouchers must be spent by 30 April 2022.

How to Apply

The vouchers can be applied for from the easy-to-remember web address 5000.gov.tw.

Paper vouchers can also be applied for in store during the above application periods by using iBon or FamiPort service machines at convenience stores or by visiting branches of Chunghwa Post. Likewise, paper vouchers can be collected at convenience stores or branches of Chunghwa Post during the collection periods provided above. When applying for paper vouchers online, you will be asked which convenience store location you wish to collect your vouchers from. Expect to see additional promotions from participating businesses encouraging you to spend your paper vouchers with them.

To prevent overcrowding at stores and post offices, the government is encouraging the online application and use of digital vouchers.

For digital vouchers, click through links are provided for each participating bank, stored value card issuer or mobile payment platform. Users will then be able to complete the linking of the vouchers to their desired card. There are additional promotions available from each bank or card issuer to encourage users to link their vouchers. For example, banks are offering cashback or lottery promotions for linking to their credit cards. Stored value cards such as iPass, iCash2.0 and EasyCard are offering extra credit when you link to their cards. Mobile payment platforms such as LINE Pay Money are offering points or other benefits for linking vouchers. Please refer to individual bank, card issuer or mobile platform’s dedicated stimulus voucher page for more information.

Choose wisely. Once you have linked your vouchers to a digital payment method, you can not change to paper vouchers, nor can you change to another digital payment method.

Additional Promotions

There are a total of eight add-on promotions run by different government agencies to encourage spending in designated industries. The majority of these are lottery draw promotions. They are:

1. 好食劵 – for restaurants, night markets and food stalls
2. 國旅券 – for the tourism industry (hotels, hostels and hot springs, etc)
3. i原券 - for businesses recognized by the Council of Indigenous Peoples
4. 農遊券 – for agriculture, fishing and forestry businesses
5. 藝FUN券/ArtsFunNext – for the arts
6. 動滋券 – for sports
7. 客庄券 – for businesses recognized by the Hakka Affairs Council
8. 地方創生券 – for businesses recognized by the National Development Council

The first 4 million people who register for the digital vouchers will automatically receive the add-on vouchers for restaurants, night markets and food stalls. For the others, people must register separately. Lotteries will be drawn each week between 11 October and 5 November. Winning participants will be notified by text message. An overview of the add-on promotions and each lottery draw period can be found here. Please refer to each add-on promotional website for more details. Some individual program websites were not available at the time of writing. We will add links once they go live.

Local governments have also announced additional promotions to encourage spending in their areas. For example, Taipei City’s program requires users to download the TaipeiPASS mobile application. TaipeiPASS promotions are available to all users including ARC holders, and are not limited to Taipei City residents. Vouchers can be used at participating restaurants, hotels, hostels, night markets, sports facilities, movie theaters and other businesses in the city. Validity periods and eligibility requirements for vouchers issued by local governments may differ from those set by central government. Taipei City’s voucher program information page is available here.

Spending Restrictions

Vouchers can be used in most businesses nationwide. Vouchers can also be used to pay hospital registration fees, school tuition fees, community college fees, buxiban/cram school fees, 30 or 60-day TRA train tickets, phone bills, gas bills and even purchasing products sold at temples. Because the aim is to stimulate consumer spending, vouchers can not be used to pay for stocks, water and electricity bills (run by state-owned enterprises), fines, health insurance, tax, government fees or stored value transactions. Digital vouchers can not be used on foreign eCommerce sites.

Spend wisely. It is up to the individual store whether they will give change.

Our Takeaway

While the government is encouraging the use of digital vouchers, we believe that like last year, most people will opt for the paper vouchers as they provide greater flexibility. Because they come in TWD 200, TWD 500 and TWD 1000 values, consumers can spread their spending around at different locations. They are also more convenient if you wish to donate them or give them to others. Happy spending!

Guy