Amendments to promote the use of electric vehicles, safeguard employees’ right to join unions and protect underwater heritage passed the third reading at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
Lawmakers passed an amendment to the Parking Facility Act (停車場法) that would stipulate that public parking lots must have charging facilities at spaces solely for electric vehicles.
The proportion of parking spaces for electric and fossil-fuel vehicles, the specifics of charging equipment, guidelines for setting up charging stations, subsidies and other regulations should be drawn up by the central competent authority, the amendment says.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
Vehicles that contravene parking regulations or obstruct other vehicles would be towed, it says.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) said that the government’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 means that the market share of electric vehicles should reach 30 percent by 2030, 60 percent by 2035 and 100 percent by 2040.
While the number of electric vehicles is increasing, there are not enough charging stations and those that exist are often occupied by non-electric vehicles, making people hesitant about switching to electric, Chiu said.
The amendment would protect the rights of people who drive electric vehicles and motivate more to make the switch, he said.
Lawmakers also passed an amendment to the Labor Union Act (工會法) that would increase fines for employers who restrict employees’ rights to join a union by refusing to hire them, dismissing or demoting them, reducing their wages or other unfair treatment.
Employers that contravene the unions act would face a fine of NT$100,000 to NT$500,000 (US$3,215 to US$16,075), up from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
The names of the offending company and its representatives, the date a penalty is imposed, the provisions breached and the amount of the fine would be made public.
If an employer or a person who represents the employer in exercising managerial authority fails to take action to address the issue within a certain period, they would face a fine of NT$200,000 to NT$1 million, up from NT$60,000 to NT$300,000.
Fines can be imposed repeatedly if corrections are not made, the amendment says.
Lawmakers also passed an amendment to the Underwater Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (水下文化資產保存法) to protect evidence of historical human activity underwater.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) and 16 other people proposed the amendment to Article 7 of the cultural heritage act, saying that no organization is capable of carrying out tasks it currently stipulates, as the field is relatively new.
The cultural heritage act says that “the competent authority may designate a dedicated organization for the preservation and research of underwater cultural heritage to perform the investigation, research, excavation, restoration, education, promulgation, international cooperation and other activities with respect to underwater cultural heritage.”
The amendment stipulates that the competent authority “may establish” or designate such an organization.
The legislature also passed two resolutions that require the Ministry of Culture to nurture talent to help protect and preserve underwater cultural heritage, as well as to draw up regulations regarding the review process of development projects planned in areas with underwater cultural heritage.
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