Legislators across party lines on Thursday called for legislation to restore the nation's ecological balance.
With mountain villages buried in mud and debris triggered by torrential rains and houses along the east coast washed into the Pacific by flash flooding when Typhoon Morakot swept across the nation last weekend, the growing extent of the damage caused by the disaster has raised concerns about the government's land restoration policy.
The Cabinet had approved a land restoration and conservation action plan in January 2005 and lawmakers had discussed drafting a law on land restoration, but the issue has been largely neglected until the latest natural disaster struck.
On Thursday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) called for approval of a land restoration law, a proposal that was supported by Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers.
While academics have warned time and again of the danger of unregulated building catering to the tourist trade in mountain areas, draining underground water and using coastline and riverbank areas for fish farms, the government has been lax on regulation until the latest catastrophe struck, the lawmakers said.
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) suggested that when discussing the restructuring of the government in the next legislative session, one important task would be to clarify the responsibilities of government agencies involved in land restoration and management.
DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said that the DPP caucus would draft a new law based on proposed land restoration and conservation provisions that have been shelved and submit it during the next legislative session.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
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