The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday gave the Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co (遠通電收) a three-day deadline to come up with a well-organized resolution for the problems related to the electronic toll collection (ETC) system or else the government will end its ETC contract.
"It was the decision by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office to indict former Far Eastern employee Tsai Chin-hung (
Both Systex Corp former assistant manager Tsai Chin-hung and Soong Nai-wu (
Systex Corp is one of Far Eastern's major shareholders.
Tsai Duei said that the clock will begin ticking on Monday. "Wednesday 5:30pm will be the deadline. If Far Eastern cannot come up with a well-organized resolution to guarantee the public's legal rights, we will cease the contract," said the ministry's vice minister.
Meanwhile, Tsai Duei urged motorists not to purchase any on-board units (OBU) or obtain OBU refunds in the three days before Far Eastern makes a response.
If Far Eastern fails to reply to the ministry's request before the deadline and the ministry decides to end the contract, Tsai Duei said that the ministry will then take care of the refund process and will figure out how best motorists can return their OBUs and get their money back.
"But, hopefully the ETC system will not be suspended and we will not have to end the contract," he said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai