The legislature yesterday passed an amendment to the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) banning the manufacture, sale, display, export and import of foothold traps without special permission from the Council of Agriculture.
Violators could be fined between NT$15,000 and NT$75,000 (US$518 to US$2,593).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), who initiated the amendment, said the prohibition on the still widely used foothold traps would bring the nation’s regulations on animal protection one step closer to the standards adopted in the US and the EU.
The legislature also passed an amendment to the National Pension Act (國民年金法) relaxing restrictions on qualifications for coverage under the national pension act. As a result, an additional 52,000 people will now be covered under the system.
Also passed was a Sports Industry Development Act (運動產業發展條例), a bill encouraging investment in the sports industry.
Under the act, a business operating in the sports industry can apply with the Sports Affairs Council for subsidies of up to 30 percent of expenses incurred by hiring athletes to boost sports development.
The subsidy applies for a period of up to five years.
The statute also provides tax exemptions for companies sponsoring athletes, sports teams, the sports industry or competitions, as well as the purchase of sports equipment or tickets to sports games that are donated to schools or disadvantaged groups.
In view of an increasing number of deaths from overwork, the legislature also approved an amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) increasing the penalty for employers who violate rules on working hours and safety regulations.
The legislature was scheduled to enact a statute for the development of eastern Taiwan requiring the government to set up a NT$40 billion fund for the development of Hualien County and Taitung County.
The legislature was also scheduled to pass an amendment to the Criminal Compensation Act (刑事補償法), raising compensation for people who are wrongfully convicted to NT$5,000 per day, from current compensation of between NT$1,000 and NT$3,000.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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