A traffic official yesterday downplayed negative reaction to the National Police Adminstration's new enforcement campaign on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway, saying that there has also been positive public feedback.
"What have been reflected in media reports are mostly negative comments regarding this new enforcement plan, which aims to protect the rights of safe drivers," Chen You-chin (
PHOTO: CHU PEI-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
The adminstration's 24-hour, stricter enforcement campaign, which began Monday, levies a NT$3,000 fine for five different traffic offenses.
Chen said that by executing the new plan, the government also wishes to improve helicopter patrols, which are already used to provide assistance in the case of major crimes or accidents.
Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan (
"There are simply too many accidents taking place on that highway," Su said. "I don't think anyone will oppose the idea of a stricter traffic law enforcement plan. The details of the plan's execution can definitely be further discussed with related authorities and adjustments can be made."
Su said that using helicopters to spot individual traffic violators might be an ideal strategy, but is not realistic.
"Many people think that the helicopters are used to make arrests of drivers who violate traffic regulations," Su said. "But in reality, how can arrests be done in mid-air? Helicopters can tip off ground patrol about what is going on from an aerial perspective, but actual arrest from the air is not practical," said Su.
Su explained that the main function of the air patrols is to provide real time traffic reports and aid in major crimes, accidents or other incidents on the road.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
RSS