Premier Su Tseng-chang announced Thursday that eligibility for the "triple stimulus" voucher program will be extended to holders of Alien Permanent Resident Cards and diplomatic identification cards starting next Monday, as a gesture of goodwill and hospitality to foreigners residing in Taiwan.
Launched July 15 to stimulate the economy, the program has issued vouchers to 22.97 million people, including 1.8 million who opted for the digital form and 21.17 million for the physical form of the vouchers. These people constitute 97 percent of all eligible to receive the vouchers, the premier said.
Thanks to the voucher program, retail vendors and department stores saw record high revenues between July and September, outperforming receipts from the same period in 2019 prior to the coronavirus pandemic. With such widespread participation and effective stimulus results, the vouchers have indeed been as accessible, practical and beneficial as expected.
The government will now extend this benefit to those holding Alien Permanent Resident Cards and diplomatic identification cards. After obtaining the vouchers, this group of about 13,000 people will be able to spend them with the same ease and applicability as enjoyed by Taiwanese citizens.
As the Thanksgiving season draws near, the premier expressed his personal gratitude to the many foreigners residing in Taiwan. They have stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of this country to fight for Taiwan, support Taiwan, and build lasting bonds of friendship, he said.