The Taichung City Government is planning to ban drones in two public areas — the Calligraphy Greenway and Citizen Plaza — later this month in a bid to prevent injury from drone collisions or malfunctioning machines.
The city’s Construction Bureau said that as the devices are growing in popularity and more people are using them in public spaces during holidays, there is a risk to people and property from drones colliding and crashing to the ground.
Residents in buildings around the plaza and greenway have expressed concern about the camera-equipped devices encroaching on their privacy, the bureau said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei
There is also the risk of signal interference as drone usage grows, causing loss of control over the devices and potential accidents, the bureau added.
It cited as examples a drone crashing into the Taipei 101 skyscraper in July last year; a drone falling and injuring a woman at Sun Moon Lake in June; and another one crashing into the High Speed Rail tracks in Hsinchu.
“Using drones can be dangerous and there is still no government agency tasked with regulating their usage. This is especially problematic given that the machines can be purchased online for as little as NT$50,000 to NT$60,000. The low cost of drones means that they can now be seen flying everywhere, spreading with no resistance,” said a bureau official, who declined to be named.
The bureau said that public safety and environmental protection are its main concerns, and it aims to prevent an incident before one occurs.
It added that in accordance with public interests, it will invoke Item 11.2 of Clause 99 of the Civil Aviation Act (民航法) to prohibit the operation of drones in prohibited and restricted areas.
Calligraphy Greenway and Citizen Plaza will be designated as two of these restricted areas under the city’s park ordinance, the bureau said, adding that signs will be posted and an announcement made before the new restrictions take effect later this month.
No exact date was given.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS