The government has begun accepting pre-orders for spending vouchers designed to cushion the economic blow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Premier Su Tseng-chang says that over 20,000 people pre-ordered their vouchers in the first five minutes after the pre-order system went online Wednesday morning.
When the system first opened, citizens ran into connection issues because too many people were pre-ordering. The problems were later resolved.
The vouchers cost NT$1000, and are worth NT$3000. They will be available in both paper and digital form, and will be sold at locations including post offices, banks, and convenience stores.
The pre-order period is set to continue until July 7. Most vendors and businesses will begin accepting them on July 15.
The voucher program comes with a few caveats. Firstly, it is only open to Taiwanese nationals and foreign residents who have a Taiwanese spouse. And secondly, the vouchers cannot be used on cigarettes, stocks, or expenses such tax payments and credit card bills.