Ten minutes after joining revelers in ringing in the new year, a scooter rider in Taipei was fined NT$1,000, becoming the first person in the country to get a fine for using a hand-held device while driving a car or scooter.
Taking effect starting yesterday, motorists caught using hand-held devices while driving will face a fine of NT$3,000 and NT$1,000 for car drivers and motorcyclists respectively.
The new regulation applies not only to the use of cellphones, but also computers and other mobile devices used for sending text messages, e-mails, voice mails, electronic notes and for social networking.
At 10 minutes past midnight, after finishing watching the Taipei 101 fireworks display, the scooter driver, surnamed Chang (張), was fined by the Taipei Traffic Police Corps for using the smartphone application Line, a messaging service app, while waiting at a red traffic light on the corner of Keelung Road Sec 1.
According to the Taipei Traffic Police Corps, another scooter rider was fined at 00:28am yesterday at a crossroad between Keelung Road Sec 2 and Guangfu South Road for violating the new rule.
In other news, the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) yesterday said that it is considering implementing a measure that would save millions of motorists the trouble of having to renew their drivers’ licenses, adding that the measure could take effect in July.
The highway authority had already announced last year that drivers would not need to renew their motor vehicle registration cards anymore, a regulation that also took effect yesterday.
The directorate said that freeing motorists from having to of renew their licenses is much more complicated than lifting the requirement to renew vehicle registration cards because the former requires connecting the system of the National Police Agency to household registration offices.
The directorate would also need to discuss other issues with relevant agencies.
However, the directorate said that it was confident that the entire procedure would be completed by the end of this year, adding that the earliest date of implementation would be in July.
Even though motorists would not need not renew their vehicle registration cards, they still need a certificate listing the vehicle registration information when they buy a new car, apply for a change in car ownership or make any change to their vehicle registration information.
The old system of renewing vehicle registration cards had been in place for 60 years.
Drivers were originally asked to renew their cards each year and the directorate later changed the policy by allowing drivers to renew every three years and every two years for motorcyclists.
On average, the directorate receives 5.8 million applications per year to renew motor vehicle registration cards.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all