Candidates seeking to run in any of the nine local elections on Nov. 24 can register their candidacy today, the first day of a five-day registration period, according to an election schedule announced by the Central Election Commission, the Central News Agency reported yesterday.
Registrations are open from today through Friday, before a draw on Oct. 19 to determine each candidate’s number to use in the nine-in-one elections, in which mayors, county commissioners, city and county council members, township mayors and council members, as well as local officials down to the neighborhood level, are to be elected nationwide, the commission said.
A total of 11,047 public officials are to be elected on Nov. 24, including 22 mayors, 912 councilors, 204 township mayors, 2,149 township council members, and 7,760 heads of villages and boroughs, it said.
In conjunction with the local elections, referendums on several issues will also be held, in which Republic of China citizens aged 18 or older will be eligible to cast ballots.
The commission estimated that 582,718 people in the 18-to-20 age group would be eligible first-time voters, but could only cast referendum votes, not votes for public officials.
The commission said it expects an estimated 3,979,099 first-time voters who would be allowed to vote in both categories.
There would be 19,208,490 people aged 20 or older who could legally vote in the nine-in-one elections, which is 869,066 more than the 2016 presidential election, the commission said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
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
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry