The number of people who ride a bicycle on a regular basis is expected to increase to 700,000 this year amid a bicycle craze emphasizing health and energy conservation, a report released recently by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said.
The number would mark a rise of 112 percent compared with 2006, when the number of cyclists totaled 330,000, the council said, referring to the results of market research conducted by Gallup Taiwan.
As shown in the results of various surveys released this year, many people have changed their commuting patterns to cope with higher fuel prices, with some beginning to ride a bicycle to and from work.
Government efforts to build a nationwide network of bicycle paths since 2002 have also helped promote cycling as a means of transportation and recreation, the council said.
Before that, most bicycle paths were built haphazardly by local governments, without systematic integration, it said.
By the end of last year, the government had completed the construction of 40 special bicycle paths and integrated bicycle paths in various areas around the country, spanning a total length of 1,180km, the council said.
As 80 percent of cyclists in Taiwan ride a bicycle for leisure, the government will pay attention to regional tourism resources and continue to work toward developing a national bicycle path network, the council said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
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