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.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS