The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday introduced a raffle for car owners who dispose of their vehicles that were damaged in the flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot at certified vehicle collection junkyards.
The EPA introduced the raffle to prevent thousands of flood-damaged vehicles ending up on the illegal autoparts market or inadvertently harboring disease-bearing insects and pests.
“Because of the Morakot disaster, many cars in southern Taiwan were flooded and are now beyond repair,” Recycling Fund Management Board director Lin Chien-huei (林建輝) said.
Lin said about 100,000 cars were expected to be sold either on the second-hand or junkyard market from now until the end of the year.
However, if the cars are abandoned or disposed of improperly, in addition to the possibility of spreading disease, they may be taken apart and sold as parts on the illegal second-hand vehicle market, he said.
“To prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu epidemic and other contagious diseases, a speedy cleanup is necessary,” Lin said.
“From now until the end of the year, those who recycle their cars to EPA-certified junkyards are eligible to enter a draw in which we are giving away 100 KHS-brand foldable bicycles — with a retail value of NT$6,800 each — and Jack Wolfskin bike gears,” he said.
The value of the combined set exceeds NT$8,000, he said.
Owners of cars beyond 10 years old can also apply to the EPA for a NT$1,000 recycling reward, Lin said, adding that 10-year-old motorcycle owners were eligible for a NT$300 reward.
For more information on vehicle collections or to schedule a pick-up, call 0800-085-717.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard