Description

To fight the consumer crunch that hit Taiwan during the Global Financial Crisis, the government made a thoughtful decision on November 18, 2008 to launch a consumer voucher program, following a similar strategy in Japan.

To create the legal basis for the program, the Executive Yuan on November 24, 2008 passed the Special Act for Distributing Consumer Vouchers to Boost the Economy, which in turn was passed by the Legislature on December 5 and promulgated by the president that night.

The program issued vouchers of NT$3,600 per person. This stimulus to private spending, combined with increased investments in public infrastructure, helped to boost domestic demand and stabilize production and employment levels.

The photo shows Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (second from left) observing operations at a consumer voucher service center on January 5, 2009.