The Taipei City Government is turning a blind eye to foreigners committing traffic violations, a New Party city councilor said yesterday, demanding that the city start collecting the NT$14 million (US$420,000) in unpaid traffic fines that foreigners have accumulated.
New Party Taipei City Councilor Hou Kuan-chiung (侯冠群) said the Taipei City Transportation Department and the city police were letting traffic violations among foreigners slide owing to a perceived language barrier and the difficulty of collecting fines from foreigners.
The city government should put more effort into cracking down on traffic violations by foreigners, he said.
“It is not fair for local citizens that foreigners can get away with traffic violations because of our police’s indulgence,” Hou told a press conference at the Taipei City Council.
“Even when the police do issue tickets to foreign violators, it’s unlikely that anyone would make the effort to collect the fines,” he said.
The Taipei City Police Department’s traffic division recorded 10,874 traffic violations involving foreigners from 2005 until last year. Of the NT$27 million in fines imposed on the violators during that time, NT$5.6 million remains uncollected, bringing the total since 2002 to NT$14 million.
Hou showed a copy of a ticket that was mailed to his Taipei address from the US two weeks after he was caught speeding in California. He was asked to pay a US$908 fine via check or credit card.
“I admire the police officer who issued me the ticket because he was doing his job. I hope our police department will learn from the California police department and collect the fines regardless of the difficulties,” he said.
Chen Shao-hsu (陳少旭), a division chief at the Taipei City Police Traffic Department, denied giving foreign violators special treatment.
Chen said the traffic police sought the assistance of the foreign affairs police whenever necessary.
Chang Chi-hsiung (張積雄), a division chief at Taipei City’s Traffic Adjudication Office, said the office has been working with the National Immigration Agency to collect unpaid fines from foreigners.
In cases where the violators have left the country, the office asks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help determine their overseas address so that the ticket can be mailed to them, he said.
Hou asked the transportation department to inform foreign drivers about Taiwan’s traffic rules to reduce the number of violations.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS