■ Transportation
ETC trial run begins
A 10-day trial run of the electronic Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system began yesterday and will end at midnight on Jan. 25. The trial will take place on eight stops along the north-south Formosa Freeway (Freeway 3) from Holong (後龍) in Miaoli County to Chutien (竹田) in Pingtung County. Two lanes have been allocated at toll booths for the trial run. Vehicles with on-board units (OBUs) are advised to use the innermost lanes. Ministry of Transport and Communications officials asked drivers to make sure they don't enter the wrong lane as offenders will be subject to a NT$3,000 fine. The ETC system was slated to begin operations on Jan. 1 but is now set to go into effect nationwide on Feb. 10. During the three-month promotion period for the system OBUs are priced at NT$680, with free installation. After the promotion period OBUs will be priced at NT$1180 and installation will cost NT$175. A deposit of NT$500 is also required. The ETC tolls will be NT$40 for small cars, NT$50 for buses and NT$65 for cars connected to trailers or other parts.
PHOTO: TSAI CHIH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
■ Foreign labor
Airport aid now available
A service station was established yesterday at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport to help foreign laborers upon arrival. The service station will help with documentation checks and baggage claim, disputes with airport personnel, legal assistance and problems with laborers being mislead or cheated by unlawful bodies on their arrival in this country. Assistance will be given from the moment of arrival until the foreign workers are delivered to the hands of their employers or those who are collecting them at the airport. A service station will also be provided in the departure halls, where a hotline for last minute protests or objections will be available for those who have been unfairly dismissed or are being repatriated.
■ Society
Dog buyers cautioned
The number of people expected to buy dogs is expected to rise sharply as the Lunar New Year brings in the "Year of the Dog" so Council of Agriculture officials yesterday warned dog lovers to ensure their pets receive the necessary vaccinations, especially for rabies. Although Taiwan has been rabies free since the 1960s, the increase in trade between China and Taiwan means that extra caution should be taken since rabies is a serious problem in China, they said. Officials said that pet buyers should avoid buying pets whose origins are unknown. If any member of the public has suspicions about animal smuggling, they should call 0800031131.
■ Travel
Japan mulls driving rights
Japan is considering recognizing Taiwanese driver licenses, Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kazuo Kitagawa said on Sunday. He said that his ministry is discussing the issue with police authorities. Taiwanese tourists cannot use international drivers' licenses in Japan because Tokyo does not recognize Taiwanese licenses. As Taiwan is the second-largest source of tourists to Japan, Kitagawa said his ministry plans to recognize Taiwanese licenses in order to attract more Taiwanese visitors. Taiwanese made about 1.3 million visits to Japan last year.
Three passengers and the assailant were reportedly injured in a knife attack on the Taichung MRT on Tuesday. The Rapid Transit Brigade of the Taichung Police Department is still investigating the incident, with no motive immediately apparent. Taichung Police Commissioner Lee Wen-chang (李文章) said that at least four people were injured in the attack, and the suspect has been taken into custody. The incident occurred at about 11:15am on a train car near Taichung City Hall Station. Witnesses reported seeing a man attacking others with a knife, while other passengers tried to grab his hair or fend him off with umbrellas. Three people were reportedly
Schools in Keelung and four New Taipei City districts are to be closed to the public until Wednesday, as police continue searching for an escaped patient convicted of attempted murder. The New Taipei City Government on Tuesday decided to close campuses in Wanli (萬里), Sijhih (汐止), Pingsi (平溪) and Rueifang (瑞芳) districts to outsiders, as the patient was last spotted taking a bus toward Rueifang from Keelung. Police patrols have been increased near schools, the city government said, advising students to travel in groups and not linger near campus. The Keelung City Government earlier announced that campuses and local representative offices in the
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Groups have organized protests at the Chiayi Cultural Park in Chiayi City, the National Museum of Taiwan Literature in Tainan and Kaohsiung Central Park Activist groups and civil society organizations called for nationwide demonstrations today to demand transparency in the legislative process, as legislators are scheduled to resume voting on a set of controversial legislative reforms. Today’s planned activities led by Taiwan Citizen Front are to be a continuation of Tuesday’s protests against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers attempts to pass bills without undergoing what critics say is the proper review process. In a news release yesterday, Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union and other groups urged people to protest on the streets bordering the Legislative Yuan in Taipei to
Taipei police on Saturday arrested 24 female Thai tourists on suspicion of working as hostesses and engaging in illegal activities at an underground bar in Zhongshan District (中山), the distict’s police precinct said in a statement yesterday. The police also arrested five other people involved in the operation, including the 29-year-old bar owner surnamed Chiang (蔣), and 17 customers, the statement said. The 24 Thai women were fined an undisclosed amount in accordance with the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) by the police and transferred to a National Immigration Agency (NIA) special brigade in Taipei for repatriation to Thailand. The cases of