The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has rejected a proposal to designate dining halls specifically for vegan diners in all of the nation’s airports, freeway rest areas and railway stations, saying that most of the transport hubs already offer vegetarian food.
The proposal, posted on Aug. 2 by a woman surnamed Lin (林) on the National Development Council’s Public Policy Participation Network Platform Web site, said the nation has about 3.3 million vegetarians.
However, they can only purchase vegetarian instant noodles, crackers or low-nutrient food at freeway rest stations, which lowers their interest in traveling domestically, Lin said.
It is not enough for the government to only promote a halal-certification system for food served to Muslims, as other religions observe different dietary regulations, she added.
“The government has budgeted funds to subsidize stock farmers and encourage the consumption of high-carbon-emission food. Not only would this erase all efforts made to protect the environment, but it would also encourage carbon emissions. However, we do not see a comparable amount of subsidy and promotion going to the vegetarian food industry,” she said.
Lin said the government should stipulate laws requiring the nation’s airports, freeway rest areas and railway stations to designate dining halls to serve vegan customers.
The food served at such facilities should be labeled as vegan or Muslim-friendly or if it can be consumed by Hindus, Buddhists or Tibetan Buddhists, she said, adding that the government should encourage restaurateurs to sell vegan food by providing them with subsidies, waiving their business taxes and giving them discounts on rent.
The proposal garnered 5,847 signatures by Sept. 2. The platform’s policy requires the ministry to offer an official response to proposals within two months after they garner more than 5,000 signatures.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration rejected the proposal, saying that all restaurants in airport terminals managed by the agency already serve a wide variety of vegetarian food for people to choose from.
The agency is not legally required to have such facilities inside airport terminals, it said.
“If the government stipulates a law to make a vegan-friendly dining area a must-have facility in airports, there would be similar proposals for designated dining areas for Muslims, Hindus and others. Airport terminals have limited space and cannot possibly meet every dietary demand,” the agency said, adding that it could suggest restaurateurs improve the labeling of vegetarian food they serve.
Taoyuan International Airport Corp, the operator of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, said that it met with restaurateurs at the airport on Sept. 4 to discuss the feasibility of the proposal, adding that restaurants serving vegetarian food agreed to put up clear signs at the payment counters to show customers that they can purchase vegetarian food there.
Vegetarian dishes on the menus would be labeled as being suitable for vegans, ovo-vegetarians, lacto-vegetarians, ovo-lacto-vegetarians, pesco-vegetarians, semi-vegetarians or vegetarians who do not eat green onions, leeks, garlic, Chinese scallions or onions, the company said.
The Freeway Bureau said all 15 freeway rest areas in the nation sell vegetarian food, adding that it would ask contractors managing the businesses at the rest areas to add more signs for restaurants serving vegetarian food at the food courts.
They would also use the internal broadcast system to tell customers that vegetarian meals are available.
The bureau would comply if the nation has a law requiring each freeway rest area to have a vegan dining area, it said.
The Taiwan Railways Administration said that vegetarian food is part of a wide selection of food that it serves to its customers.
Bakeries and restaurants inside the railway stations already offer vegetarian foods, it added.
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday said he would not attend the official Double Ten National Day celebrations for the first time this year, as its English name, “Taiwan National Day,” implies “Taiwan independence.” Writing on Facebook, Ma said he has attended every National Day celebration since entering public service 40 years ago, but “with an exceedingly heavy heart,” has decided to reject this year’s invitation. For the past three years, the government under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has used “Taiwan National Day” for the event’s official English-language title, leaving the “Republic of China” nowhere to be found, he said. The move
RUNWAY UPGRADES: Airports and ports mainly scattered around southwestern Japan are being given major overhauls, primarily serving as civilian-use facilities Japan has chosen 33 airports and ports as candidates for improvement to enhance military capabilities, with a particular focus on infrastructure that could be utilized in a Taiwan emergency, according to a recent report in Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun. Citing the Japanese government’s fiscal budget proposal for next year, the newspaper said Toyko is to name some facilities as essential bases and receive funding for upgrades in line with the revamped national security strategy published last year. According to an unofficial policy document drafted last month and reviewed by the Nikkei, the Japanese government designated 14 airports and 19 ports for improvement, including
RSS