Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday approved of the idea of levying a “liquor tax” on alcohol — a proposal first made by former minister of health Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) — saying the method would help to free up the capital the city needs for its campaign to combat drunk drivers.
Ko — along with Yaung and TV personality Cheng Chia-chen (鄭家純), better known as Chicken Cutlet Girl (雞排妹) — was speaking at an event to raise awareness about the danger of driving under the influence of alcohol.
He said that Taipei, despite comparatively lower fatality rates from drunk driving among the nation’s cities and counties, should strive to eliminate the crime, because deaths from drunk-driving incidents almost always affect entire families.
With the Lunar New Year holidays approaching, Ko said that every table at private-sector year-end banquets should have a host to ensure that no one drives after imbibing.
Citing past statistics, he said penalties have had limited impact on drivers’ behavior and people respond more to promotions urging people not to drink and drive.
Yaung said that health and welfare surcharges on tobacco products has not only helped stem the growth of the number of smokers, but also provided the government with funds required to run anti-smoking campaigns.
He said that taxing alcohol would help to discourage consumption, thereby lowering instances of drunk driving.
Ko lauded the liquor tax proposal, saying that society has paid too great a price for drunk driving, with more than 4,000 people killed in accidents where alcohol was a factor over the past decade, most of whom were young.
In 2010, a draft statute proposed by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chiang Ling-chun (江玲君) suggested imposing a surcharge on liquor products with an alcohol content of more than 35 percent, while KMT Legislator Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟) put forward a draft bill stipulating that drinks with an alcohol content of more than 5 percent should be taxed.
However, both failed to gain the necessary backing they needed to be passed into law.
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
RSS