Drawings for the Taipei Bear Vouchers 2.0 was held on Oct. 25. Nearly 700 thousand vouchers were given out. There are concerns that such event is Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je's way of canvassing support for his party for the year end election. Ko denied such claim.
The draw of winners for the Bear Vouchers 2.0 for use in Taipei was done on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Nearly 1.68 million participants signed up for a chance to win, but only 696,000 sets of vouchers were given out.
Reporter: “Have you thought about what you want to do if you won the vouchers?”
Participant: “Eat and drink and be merry!”
Participant: “I would go see an exhibition at the Taipei Performing Arts Center or watch a performance. ”
According to the Taipei City Government statistics, most people signed up for food and shopping vouchers, and market and stall vouchers. The hardest vouchers to win are accommodation vouchers and market and stall vouchers. Some people questioned whether drawing and announcing lucky winners before the local elections was a way of canvassing support from the public.
Ko Wen-je, Taipei City Mayor: “It is out of respect that we waited for the budget review to be done first at the councilors' meeting before doing the draw. We just went along the timeline that's all.”
Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je denied the claim. Meanwhile, Culture Minister Lee Yung-te recently announced that all young adults in Taiwan who will be turning 18-year-old next year are eligible of receiving NT$1,200 worth of arts vouchers in 2023. The media also questioned whether that is a form of canvassing support.
Ko Wen-je, Taipei City Mayor: “This is the biggest pressure for us politicians. How do we choose between making our citizens happy and making long-term plans for the country? This is a pretty hard topic.”
Ko said there is no free lunch; there is a limitation to a nation's budget. The government should carefully contemplate on how to maximize budget performance.
熊好券2.0，今（25）日上午舉辦抽獎活動，這回共有近168萬人線上登記，不過最後只抽出69.6萬份，人人搶當中獎的幸運兒。
被問到抽中熊好券有什麼打算，有民眾說：「就去大吃大喝。」
也有民眾表示：「去北藝看個展覽，或者是表演。」
根據台北市政府統計，熊好券2.0最多人登記的券種，包括饗購券和市集券；最難抽中的則是住宿券和市集券。只是，熊好券2.0抽獎活動，就在縣市長選舉前登場，外界質疑，這是不是選前的選舉券？
台北市長柯文哲表示：「要尊重議會的預算的審核權，所以等到議會審查完時間就是這樣。」
柯文哲強調熊好券，並非是縣市長選舉的選舉券。不過，媒體關注，文化部長李永得宣布，明年起要讓滿18歲青年，領取1200元的藝FUN券，這算不算政治選票？
台北市長柯文哲指出：「當政治人物最大的壓力，就是在討好民眾跟國家長期發展之間，到底要怎麼做抉擇，這是滿難的題目啦。」
柯文哲說國家經費有限，天底下也沒有白吃的午餐，經費如何使用 ? 政府恐怕得好好思量，才能發揮最大效益。
