The government is keeping tabs on illegal gambling syndicates and pirate radio stations that could influence the outcome of the presidential election, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said yesterday at a press conference following a Cabinet-level meeting on maintaining public order.
"Premier Chang [Chun-hsiung (
The authorities will focus their efforts on stopping the dissemination of inaccurate information via pirate radio stations and gambling syndicates trying to influence the result of the election, Chen said.
The meeting, convened by Chang, was attended by Interior Minister Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋), Coast Guard Administration Minister Wang Jinn-wang (王進旺), National Police Administration Director-General Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Justice Minister Morley Shih (施茂林), among others.
Lee told the press conference that 62,518 police and 32,051 civilians would be on duty on election day, with 47,159 of them stationed at the nation's 14,401 polling stations to ensure the security of voters and the safe transportation of the ballots.
The high-profile arrangements for guarding the presidential candidates and running mates of both camps, as well as the incumbent president and vice president, will last until one week after the election, Lee said.
In related developments, Lee said the ministry also briefed the premier on its performance on maintaining the nation's social order last year.
"We did an excellent job last year" Lee said.
"The number of violent crimes dropped by 26.29 percent compared to 1998, the lowest in the past 10 years," he said.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
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