The legislature yesterday revised rules allowing for an increase of about NT$20 billion (US$661.7 million) to the annual education budget, to be used to extend compulsory education from nine years to 12 years starting in 2014.
Under the amended Compilation and Administration of Educational Expenditures Act (教育經費編列與管理法), the yearly education budget cannot be less than 22.5 percent of the net tax income of the previous three years, up from the present 21.5 percent.
The amendment stipulates that the newly added budget of NT$20 billion must be used to implement the 12-year compulsory education proposal by 2014, to ensure that the project does not crowd out existing education spending.
In view of the decreasing number of students as a result of a declining fertility rate, the legislature approved an amendment to the Private School Act (私立學校法) that allows for conversion of use of private-school land to other purposes related to cultural and social welfare institutions.
The amendment exempted private schools from being subject to a penalty under the Land Tax Act (土地稅法) for the use of land inconsistent with the designated purpose of donation, a fine equal to two times the land value increment tax.
Meanwhile, the legislature yesterday approved an amendment to the Organic Act of the National Security Bureau (國家安全局組織法) to change the organization into a three-tier system modeled on the US’ CIA.
Based on the amendment, the security bureau can set up subordinate units within the bureau, as well as establish overseas missions when necessary.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai