The Ministry of the Interior announced yesterday that it would begin using a biometric identification system at border control points as soon as December to better maintain border security.
“The Executive Yuan has approved the ministry’s plan to use biometric identification technology at border control points and we will start collecting biometric information from visiting foreigners as well as from Taiwanese with no household registration information this year,” Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) told a press conference.
“This will better maintain border security and the safety of the public,” he added.
Hsiao said the ministry has spent NT$180 million (US$6 million) developing the system, and that it plans to first use it at Kaohsiung International Airport in December.
“If everything works well, we will then set up the system at entry points in airports and harbors across the nation,” Hsiao added.
He explained that, at entry, a foreigner or a Taiwanese without a household registration would be required to provide fingerprints and have his or her facial features recorded. When the visitor leaves, the system would automatically check that it is the same person.
“Plastic surgery can change the way a person looks, but it cannot change biological features, such as the distance between the two pupils,” he said. “If the system fails to identify the person by comparing facial features, we would then check their fingerprints.”
Meanwhile, Hsiao said that the ministry has sent draft amendments to the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) that would relax some immigration restrictions to the legislature for review.
“If passed [by the legislature], white-collar foreign workers with Alien Permanent Resident Certificates would be allowed to leave the country for up to five years before their certificate becomes void,” he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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