■ TRANSPORTATION
Electric cars get new plates
Starting next month, vehicle registration departments nationwide will grant special licenses to those purchasing electric vehicles as part of the nation’s policy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. According to the Directorate General of Highways (DGH), the new policy applies to owners of electric sedans, large-sized electric passenger vehicles as well as electric rental cars. The DGH added that license plate specifications, including the size and arrangement of numbers and letters, are basically the same as regular license plates, except the numbers and letters are green. The Chinese characters for electric vehicles (電動車) will also be printed on the upper side of the license plates, the DGH said. The DGH said that owners of electric vehicles can choose or bid for specific license plate numbers by following the regulations for regular plates.
■ HEALTH
Election funds announced
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will receive NT$250 million (US$7 million) in election subsidies this year and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will get NT$180 million, according to a promulgation released by the Central Election Commission. According to the Election and Recall Act for Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法), the government issues election subsidies to political parties according to the percentage of votes they received in the previous legislative election. In the last legislative election in 2008, the KMT received 51.23 percent of the votes, while the DPP received 36.91 percent. Although a total of 12 political parties took part in the election, only the KMT and the DPP crossed the 5 percent threshold and are therefore eligible to receive the subsidies.
■ HEALTH
Childbirth slogans selected
A panel of judges has selected 20 childbirth promotion slogans out of more than 28,000 submitted by the public. The chosen slogans will be posted on the Internet where all Taiwanese nationals and Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) holders can vote for their favorite. The online voting will be held from midday next Sunday until midday on Aug. 31 at 100.moi.gov.tw. Those who would like to vote need to provide their name, gender, date of birth and national ID number or ARC number to avoid repeat voting. The winner of the slogan contest will receive an NT$1 million cash award. Twenty voters will also receive a cash prize of NT$2,000 each.
■ SOCIETY
Ma praises volunteers
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday praised a group of volunteer bridge builders, calling them the “pride of Taiwan” as he noted that they have built 436 bridges since 1965 when their organization was established. Ma paid tribute to the work of the organization, called Chiayi Dogood, at the opening ceremony for three new bridges in Chaiyi County, where the group is based. The work of Chiayi Dogood is “heart-warming,” Ma said, noting that its members donate both money and time, working at weekends to help build bridges and roads to help improve transport in villages and other communities. Ma singled out the contribution of Lu Lin-chin (盧林金), who still volunteers at construction sites even though he is now 97 years old. Lu could qualify for a world record, Ma said. Chiayi Dogood has 1,800 members and more than 6,000 supporters, who each donate NT$100 a month for the bridge building projects, Ma said. The organization’s achievement of building 436 bridges so far is a “world wonder,” Ma added.
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