The legislature yesterday gave preliminary approval to a legal amendment that will require backseat passengers in small cars to wear seatbelts, with the driver liable to be fined if they don’t.
The amendment to Article 31 of the Act Governing the Punishment of Violation of Road Traffic Regulations (道路交通管理處罰條例) mandates that drivers could be punished if passengers sitting in the backseat do not buckle up. However, for taxi services, passengers will be penalized if they refuse to follow the taxi drivers’ verbal and written instructions to fasten their seatbelts.
First proposed by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chen Chao-long (陳朝龍), the amendment passed a third reading at the legislature in 2006.
However, legislators delayed execution of the policy amid controversy over whether children under the age of four should be required to wear seatbelts and whether drivers or passengers should be fined if the latter refused to buckle up.
The issue again came to national attention after the death of Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) granddaughter Nora Sun (孫鏸芬) following a car accident earlier this year. Reports said she was in the backseat and had not fastened her seatbelt.
Despite a consensus between the DPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on the necessity of the measure, lawmakers said the Ministry of Transportation and Communications had to be cautious in executing the policy.
“The aim should be to enhance the safety of passengers, not punish them,” DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said, adding that the ministry should increase its public awareness campaign on the new policy.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said the amendment should clearly state drivers’ obligation to require passengers to wear seatbelts.
The ministry said it would initiate a campaign of between one and three months to inform the public of the change in policy before officially implementing it.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS