The Directorate-General of Highways said yesterday that all imported cars that are to be driven in Taiwan for a short period will not be able to display license plates issued by the country where they are registered, adding that the foreign plates will be returned to owners after they give back the temporary license plates issued by the agency.
The policy was announced after Chinese license plates were spotted on streets of Taiwan.
Some have suggested that the cars might be driven by Chinese spies to gather sensitive information, generating a national security issue.
The agency said that previously, any car registered in China or any other country must apply for a temporary set of plates, which are made of paper. The paper plates are to be glued over the original plate at the front and the back of the vehicle, the agency said.
The original license plates might be revealed if the paper ones are blown off by wind or other means, it added.
To prevent foreign plates from being accidentally displayed, the highways authority said that it will require the owners of overseas-registered cars to remove the original plates before they will be allowed to drive the cars in Taiwan.
The plates will be held by the agency and returned to the owners when they give back the temporary plates, it said.
People wanting to import vehicles from China must file for permission from the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Foreign Trade.
In the past 10 years, 109 owners of cars registered overseas have applied for temporary plates, the agency said. The majority of the vehicles were imported from Japan, Germany and the US.
Only eight vehicles were from China, including three imported in 2009 by Far EasTone Communications to support mobile communication networks in areas devastated by Typhoon Marakot, four semi-trailers imported under the Maritime and Port Bureau’s trial program for roll-on, roll-off ships and one by a private association in Greater Tainan.
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