Attacks mounted on legislators and members of the Cabinet yesterday, as the Legislative Yuan's Health, Environment and Social Welfare Committee
The revisions will extend the range of non-smoking areas and fines for smoking within them.
Among those criticized for setting a bad example were Government Information Office director-general Chung Chin
When asked by legislators if he will enforce the revised act, Department of Health director-general Lee Ming-liang (李明亮) said he was appalled that government officials were setting a bad example and that he would impose fines on the spot for those he caught violating the act.
He also said he would try to talk Cabinet members into giving up the habit.
In the report at the legislature, Lee said about 10,000 people in Taiwan die annually from smoking -- resulting in a loss to the economy of more than NT$13 billion per year.
According to statistics provided by the health department, male smokers over the age of 18 account for 47.29 percent of the smoking population -- down from the 1973 figure of 60 percent.
On the other hand, female smokers over the age of 18 are on the rise -- and currently represent 5.23 percent of the smoking population. The remaining fraction of the group -- smokers under 18 years of age -- is also increasing, the report said.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
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