Several government measures and special offers from different divisions are to be launched on Wednesday.
The Department of Health (DOH) will begin administering free shots of Pneumococcus vaccine for children under age five. Approximately 6,500 children are expected to benefit from the new measure.
The DOH will also start implementing its new labeling system for vegetarian food. It has divided vegetarian food into five categories, including food containing eggs, milk, or both milk and eggs, as well as those containing green onions, garlic, green leeks, red leeks and white onions, and those containing none of the ingredients above.
Food manufacturers must follow the categories and label their products appropriately.
Meanwhile, to reward those who save electricity, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) will give a 20 percent discount to those who use 10 percent less electricity compared with the same time period last year. Those who cut consumption by 10 percent for two consecutive years will receive a discount of 30 percent.
Also starting on Wednesday, Republic of China passports holders can travel to Ireland visa-free, however those going to work or study must still apply for visas.
The National Youth Commission will also begin taking applications for internships at overseas non-profit organizations starting on Wednesday. Successful applicants will receive flight subsidies and NT$18,000 in spending money every month.
Both the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) and the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp will start offering special deals for summer travelers.
The TRA will start selling a “TR-Pass” next month to encourage backpacking around the country. Taiwanese students can choose either a five-day or seven-day TR-Pass, which cost NT$599 and NT$799 respectively, while foreign students can also purchase 10-day passes for NT$1,089.
TR-Pass holders will have unlimited access to several TRA train services, including the Chukuang Express, Fuxing Express and commuter trains. However, they will not be able to use the pass on Tzuchiang Express trains, the most expensive service.
Groups traveling on the Taiwan High Speed Rail may be eligible for free tickets. The company is offering a buy-four, get-one-free deal on tickets.
AirAsia, which offers low-priced flights, meanwhile, will launch its service at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport starting on Wednesday
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching