Apartment complexes and buildings with steel bars over the windows, loose cables or advertisements on exterior walls could face fines of up to NT$100,000 starting next year after the Taipei City Government yesterday promulgated new regulations on the appearance of buildings in an attempt to improve the city’s landscape.
The city government proposed a municipal regulation on the management of the city’s landscape, demanding apartment complexes or building owners apply to the city government and follow the regulations before putting up window frames, air conditioners or ads on exterior walls of buildings.
Existing steel bar window frames or other facilities on exterior walls should be taken down or modified to conform with the regulations.
Residents who violate the regulations will face fines ranging from NT$6,000 to NT$100,000.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said he expected the new regulations to reshape the cityscape and turn Taipei into a beautiful city.
“Taipei City is moving ahead of the central government to establish a regulation on city landscape,” Hau said at Taipei City Hall yesterday.
“We are confident that Taipei will be more beautiful in the future,” he said.
Ting Yu-chun (丁育群), commissioner of the city’s Department of Urban Development, said the department would prioritize improving the appearance of buildings on major roads that are more than 30m wide, such as Zhongxiao E Road.
Areas near parks and major tourist attractions, such as the Confucius Temple or the National Palace Museum, would also fall under the program.
As for old apartments and buildings in small alleys, Ting said the city government would encourage apartment management offices to send in appearance renewal plans and the city government would provide subsidies for necessary appearance-renewal work.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS