The People First Party legislative caucus said yesterday it would boycott the budget of the Ministry of Transportation and Commun-ications if the Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co., the operator of the the electronic toll collection system for the nation's freeways, continues to cut down service hours at its retail stores.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday that a Far Eastern retail store in Tai-chung had been closed and 18 of the company's other stores have shortened their office hours by three hours.
In a report to the caucus, Lee Tai-ming (李泰明), Director-General of the National Expressway Bureau, said he was not aware of Far Eastern's changes until he read about them in the newspaper yesterday.
Lee said he had ordered his staff to research the issue before he left to meet with the caucus.
"We will take care of this matter based on what's stated in the contract," Lee said.
The fact that Lee just assumed his post at the bureau on Monday did not stop the legislators from grilling him over controversies related to the electronic toll collection system.
PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
Two executives of drone supplier Jiin Ming Industry Co (錦明實業) have been detained and held incommunicado over the company's alleged use of prohibited China-made chips and camera lenses in drones supplied under recent military contracts, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors' Office said today. In a statement, prosecutors said they raided the offices of Jiin Ming — headquartered in Taoyuan — as well as those of its subsidiaries and its suppliers on Thursday last week. The raids followed a report that the company had breached its procurement contracts by putting the prohibited components into drones delivered to the military. During the raids, prosecutors summoned
The government would continue monitoring online rumors that a pneumonic plague outbreak has spread from Russia into China and could enhance existing quarantine measures, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said today. During a legislative meeting, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said rumors were circulating that the disease had spread across several Chinese provinces. He asked Cho whether the government was prepared to prevent the disease from spreading to Taiwan, given the frequent exchanges between Taiwan and China, and how concerned the government was about the alleged outbreak. The Ministry of Health and Welfare implemented border quarantine measures after briefing the Executive Yuan
South Korean boy band BigBang drew 120,000 fans to three concerts at Taipei Dome from Friday through yesterday, as the band thanked them for their support over their 20-year career. The Taipei Dome concerts were part of BigBang's "2026-2027 World Tour XX: Cosmos." Friday's concert was BigBang's first performance in Taiwan in 11 years. During the encore, group leader G-Dragon (GD) shouted "I love you" in Chinese and said he was especially happy to perform in Taiwan with bandmates Taeyang and Daesung. "Taipei, I'm very grateful to you all," GD said in Chinese, asking fans to wait for the band's return. Daesung thanked
DETAILED PLAN NEEDED: Relocating the airport would affect not just travelers, but also undermine national defense and emergency medical services, a legislator said Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday proposed relocating Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and turning the site into an artificial intelligence (AI) park, drawing opposition from politicians across party lines. Chiang’s plan would turn the 300 hectares into an AI park featuring tech clusters, residential communities and green space. The industrial cluster would host 200 domestic enterprises, generate NT$12 trillion (US$376.47 billion) in output, and accommodate 65,000 jobs and 35,000 residents, he said. Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said the Executive Yuan was surprised by the announcement, as the Taipei City Government did not discuss the proposal with the central government before making
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