The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) is to present draft amendments regulating the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for legislative review next week, a Cabinet official said on Wednesday.
The draft amendments to the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法) would also cover aerial photography, airspace and equipment after relevant rules are finalized this week, the official said.
The new measures are to serve as a regulatory framework and come in response to the rising number of UAVs and remote-controlled camera drones appearing in the skies over Taiwan. Th agency is imposing stricter regulations on camera drones weighing 15kg or more, including mandatory certification for the vehicle and operator.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Under the proposed rules, the CAA will have authority over drones weighing 15kg and above, while local governments will have jurisdiction over those that weigh less than 15kg, the official said.
The amendments are to take effect next year if they are approved by the Legislative Yuan.
The government is revising the law to tighten drone regulations following a number of crashes that raised security concerns, the official said.
Given that Taiwan is small in area, but densely populated, the regulations will be more stringent than similar laws in the US and the EU, which categorize remote drones as those weighing 25kg and above, the official said.
According to CAA rules, drones must not be flown at an altitude of more than 121.92m and are prohibited from being used to take aerial photographs of important facilities such as the Presidential Office Building and the now-shuttered Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan