Police said yesterday that they were happy with traffic flow so far this Lunar New Year holiday, but warned travelers about heavily congested freeway rest areas.
"It is our goal to shorten the travel time for everyone during the Lunar New Year. It seems that so far our efforts have been rewarded," National Police Agency Director-General Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said while visiting the Pingtung County Police Department yesterday.
The National Freeway Bureau said stores at freeway rest areas would remain open around the clock during the Lunar New Year because the facilities were packed with people.
PHOTO: CNA
The bureau said that despite the volume of traffic, no major accidents had been reported. Traffic was moving slowly but smoothly.
Last night a 6km-long line had formed on the northbound lanes of the Chiang Wei-shui Freeway (Freeway No. 5) connecting Taipei and Ilan near the Toucheng (頭城) toll station.
Highway police helped to control traffic flow at the Chingshui Rest Area on the Formosa Freeway in Taichung County, but vehicles were forced to wait in line as more than 1,000 cars occupied parking lots. Authorities have imposed a 45-minute time limit for each car visiting a rest area.
The bureau said that the toll-free period would continue for all freeways between 12am and 6am until Monday morning.
In addition, a rule requiring a minimum of three passengers will be in force for all northbound traffic between 7am and 3pm today and tomorrow. The toll-free mechanism will also apply during this period.
On the Chiang Wei-shui Freeway, the three-passenger rule and toll-free period will apply between 1pm and 5pm.
In northern Taipei, traffic to Yangmingshan (
In southern Taipei, the Maokong Gondola will be open to the public between 8:30am and 10pm through Sunday next week following three days of maintenance. Traffic restrictions will apply to coaches and trucks -- but not public buses -- for the Maokong area between 2pm and 10pm over the same period.
Meanwhile, the Kaohsiung MRT system's Red Line opened yesterday for a free trial. This will continue between 6am and 11pm through Monday.
The seven stations, including Siaogang Station (
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS