CRIME
Cybercrime affects 4 million
Close to 4 million Taiwanese were victims of cybercrime last year, including those who inadvertently downloaded viruses or malicious software, according to an online security report released on Tuesday. Total losses from cybercrime in the nation reached more than NT$34.6 billion (US$1.04 billion) last year, meaning that each victim on average suffered a loss of NT$8,886, the report conducted by research firm Edelman Berland and commissioned by a division of Symantec Corp said. The report also showed that 47 percent of parents were afraid that their children might reveal too much personal information to strangers online, and 47 percent were worried that their children would be tricked online into meeting strangers in person. The report, carried out last month, surveyed 1,022 parents aged 18 and above.
SOCIETY
Taipei holding photo contest
The Taipei City Government is holding a photo contest to commemorate the demolition of a ramp connection to Zhongxiao Bridge that blocked the view of the historical North Gate. The contest is open to all, regardless of age or nationality, and entries will be accepted from March 15 to April 15, the city’s Public Works Department said. The results will be announced a week later. Three first-place winners will each be awarded NT$50,000 in cash, three second-place winners NT$30,000 and three third-place winners NT$20,000. Fifty contestants will be honored for outstanding performance, with each receiving between NT$2,000 and NT$5,000.
TRAVEL
Saskatchewan signs MOU
Taiwan and the Canadian province of Saskatchewan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) allowing driver’s license holders from the two sides to apply for licenses without having to take local tests, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. The measure took effect on Tuesday, making Saskatchewan the eighth Canadian province to sign a reciprocal driver’s license agreement with Taiwan, following the provinces of Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, the ministry said. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are the only two Canadian provinces that do not have such an agreement with Taiwan. Drivers in Taiwan who have had a license for at least 18 months and who are residents of Saskatchewan can apply for a Class 5 driver’s license, the ministry said. Likewise, drivers from Saskatchewan who have had their licenses for at least 18 months and have obtained residence permits in Taiwan can apply for a local driver’s license.
INTERNET
IDEAS show planned for July
An annual show featuring Internet-based start-ups will be held in Taipei in July, with the aim of matching entrepreneurs and innovators with venture capitalists and angel investors, the organizers said yesterday. The IDEAS Show, organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and now in its ninth year, has become the most important platform of its kind in the nation and has gained the recognition of APEC members. Over the past eight years, the show, a matchmaking platform for emerging companies that offers related forums and seminars, has incubated more than 226 start-ups and helped 168 domestic start-ups to attract total combined investment of NT$6.12 billion through cooperation with international Internet start-up platforms.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition