Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said he would step up efforts to clamp down on drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians after a retired diplomat was hit by a taxi on the street last week and broke his arm.
“Taipei is a friendly city and we should show respect to pedestrians. We must address the issue and enforce measures to ensure that cars yield to pedestrians,” Hau said after presiding over a municipal meeting at Taipei City Hall.
Former ambassador to Guatemala Lu Yi-cheng (陸以正) was hit by a taxi on Friday last week when crossing in a pedestrian zone. He lambasted the taxi driver for ignoring the rights of pedestrians and urged the government to take the matter seriously.
Hau said the Taipei City Police Department’s Traffic Division and the city’s Department of Transportation would strengthen measures to improve the safety of pedestrians and clamp down on drivers who fail to yield to them.
According to regulations, drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians can be fined between NT$1,200 and NT$3,600.
The city government increased the number of traffic police to promote road safety ahead of the Deaflympics in September last year, but the efforts did not continue after the event concluded.
Director of the city’s traffic division Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧) said pedestrians have right of way and motorists would be fined for failing to yield — even when pedestrians violate traffic rules. The division will dispatch more police at major intersections to give tickets to drivers who violate the regulations.
Fang urged drivers to yield to pedestrians, while calling on pedestrians to stop at red lights.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS