Starting this year, car owners will have to make more environmentally friendly choices when they purchase new vehicles, the Environmental Protection Administration's (EPA) Air Quality Protection and Noise Control director-general, Hsiao Hui-chuan (蕭慧娟), said yesterday.
To help make the nation's air cleaner, the administration implemented the fourth stage of its motor vehicle emission standards yesterday, Hsiao said.
"We want to encourage everyone to buy cars that have low emissions, are fuel-efficient and possess good noise reduction systems," she said.
"The fourth stage of the regulations will see a heavy cut in greenhouse gas emissions from cars because it includes standards that are two-thirds stricter than the third stage in terms of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions will be enforced," Hsiao said.
The emissions allowance for newly manufactured or imported cars will be one-third of that of the third stage.
"In addition, all new or newly imported cars are required to come equipped with On Board Diagnostics [OBD] to monitor the vehicle's emissions [and relative pollution] levels," she said.
Current vehicle owners are not bound by the new regulations, she added.
OBD systems are computers that keep track of emission control elements in a vehicle, Hsiao said, adding that when part of a vehicle becomes defective, the system indicates the problem with warning lights on the car's dashboard.
In related news, starting yesterday a new law controlling low-frequency noises also came into force, Hsiao said.
Prior to the law's implementation, frequencies between 20Hz and 200Hz -- the kind of noise produced by air-conditioning units -- were unregulated, Hsiao said. She said in the short term, exposure to such sounds was not as serious as high-pitched noises, but prolonged exposure could produce adverse effects in people.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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