Revitalization Coupons to Be Issued in July, Wasting 3 Months for Nothing

Revitalization Coupons to Be Issued in July, Wasting 3 Months for Nothing

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

May 27, 2020

 Translation of an Excerpt

After the "discount coupons" had been brewing loudly for nearly two months, the Cabinet finally decided to change the name to "revitalization coupons", slated to hit the road in July. According to the new rules of the game, each person can pay NT$1,000 in cash in exchange for a booklet of revitalization coupons worth NT$3,000. From discount coupons being transformed into revitalization coupons, the approach seems to have been slightly improved, but it still exposes the fact that the government's governance is divorced from reality, especially lacking the concepts of "time cost" and "administrative cost", having thus designed such a complicated thing.

Many people are even more puzzled why the government does not directly issue a booklet of revitalization coupons worth NT$2,000 per person. Why should everyone spend NT$1,000 to buy a booklet of revitalization coupons worth NT$3,000? To put it bluntly, the spirit of this design is actually demonstrating the government’s desire for control and a sense of authority: the people will have to wait in long queues to buy revitalization coupons in person, so the people will remember the Tsai government’s benevolence and magnanimity, and the merchants will know how to express their gratitude for Premier Su’s exemplary governance.

The revitalization coupons will not be issued until July; it is indeed too late, wasting a good three months.

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