Amateur singers in Taipei now need to beware as the city announced a ban on karaoke and using noisy household tools late at night.
In order to ensure peaceful nights, the Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) announced a ban on household karaoke, use of noisy electric household tools and loudspeakers at outdoor events between 11pm and 6am, EPB officials said in a press release.
The news release also stated that violators will be subject to fines between NT$3,000 to NT$30,000.
Many residents of Taipei welcomed the new ban.
"I'm a victim [of late night karaoke] myself," Liu Hsiang-hsin (
"People who live above my place sing karaoke everyday," Liu continued. "It always gets very noisy in my room and sometimes I want to escape from my home."
Liu said that she would prefer an even stricter rule: "11pm is already very late, I think singing [karaoke] should be prohibited after 9pm."
Another victim of late night karaoke noise pollution, Chen Chi-cheng (陳志成), also welcomed the ban, but was skeptical about its execution in practice.
"I support the ban, but I hope they [the city government] will really execute it, because I think it'll be difficult in practice." Chen said.
"In any case, I'll keep reporting my neighbor until I see solid improvement," he added.
Some, on the other hand, believe that a ban cannot solve everything.
A native of Taichung who has lived in Taipei for some years, an office worker surnamed Chang, believed mutual respect is the ultimate solution.
"People in Taipei should learn to respect each other. That's more important than the law," Chang said.
The ban took effect yesterday. However, outdoor activities on particular holidays will be exceptions to the ban, according to the EPB.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS