Starting this year, car owners will have to make more environmentally friendly choices when they purchase new vehicles, the Environmental Protection Administration's (EPA) Air Quality Protection and Noise Control director-general, Hsiao Hui-chuan (蕭慧娟), said yesterday.
To help make the nation's air cleaner, the administration implemented the fourth stage of its motor vehicle emission standards yesterday, Hsiao said.
"We want to encourage everyone to buy cars that have low emissions, are fuel-efficient and possess good noise reduction systems," she said.
"The fourth stage of the regulations will see a heavy cut in greenhouse gas emissions from cars because it includes standards that are two-thirds stricter than the third stage in terms of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions will be enforced," Hsiao said.
The emissions allowance for newly manufactured or imported cars will be one-third of that of the third stage.
"In addition, all new or newly imported cars are required to come equipped with On Board Diagnostics [OBD] to monitor the vehicle's emissions [and relative pollution] levels," she said.
Current vehicle owners are not bound by the new regulations, she added.
OBD systems are computers that keep track of emission control elements in a vehicle, Hsiao said, adding that when part of a vehicle becomes defective, the system indicates the problem with warning lights on the car's dashboard.
In related news, starting yesterday a new law controlling low-frequency noises also came into force, Hsiao said.
Prior to the law's implementation, frequencies between 20Hz and 200Hz -- the kind of noise produced by air-conditioning units -- were unregulated, Hsiao said. She said in the short term, exposure to such sounds was not as serious as high-pitched noises, but prolonged exposure could produce adverse effects in people.
A domestically developed “suicide drone,” also known as a loitering munition, would be tested and evaluated in July, and could enter mass production next year, Taiwan’s weapons developer said on Wednesday. The yet-to-be-named drone was among nine drone models unveiled by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Tuesday. The drone has been dubbed the “Taiwanese switchblade” by Chinese-language media, due to its similarity to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which has been used by Ukraine in counterattacks during Russia’s invasion. It has a range of more than 10km, a flight time of more than 15 minutes, and an electro-optical
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
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TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
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