Taipei City Police Department's Traffic Corps' plan to auction 22 BMW R-850 bikes early next year is unlikely to attract fans of big bikes as bidders are required to purchase all at once, a motorbike association official said.
Chen Ming-cheng (
He said the police force had to retire the bikes because regulations state that police patrol vehicles must be retired after 10 years of service.
"These bikes are old. But I guarantee that they still run well," Chen said.
But Taipei Big Bike Association chairman Chen Li-yun (
"Although the bikes are old, prospective buyers should know that if they bid for the bikes and win, they have to buy all 22 bikes based on the bidding rules," Chen Li-yun said. "Who would be rich enough and crazy enough to do such a thing?"
Chen Li-yun said the bid could still attract used bike dealers, who could buy them and sell them for spare parts.
"But the bottom line is, there must be a market," he said.
"And that's another problem -- ?only the police and the military police were allowed to import big bikes like these 17 years ago. That means these are the only bikes of their kind in Taiwan. Who would buy the parts?" he said.
Tax problems could also keep potential buyers away, he said.
The police did not have to pay tax when they bought the bikes 17 years ago, but whoever wins the auction will have to pay all the duties before the bikes can be registered as legal vehicles, he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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