Residents of Hualien County are now permitted to collect unmarked driftwood from designated areas for personal use, the county said.
Areas where driftwood collection will be permitted include the coastline south of Pingsi River in Yilan County down to Kanan Bridge (卡南橋), which connects Yilan and Hualien counties (but not including the port in the Heping Industrial Zone); southward from the south side entrance to Chongde Tunnel (崇德隧道) to Chilaibi Lighthouse (奇萊鼻燈塔); from the estuary of Meilun Creek (美崙溪) to the beach at the boundary with Taitung County; and Shihti Fishing Port (石梯漁港).
Photo: CNA
However, any wood collected with markings designating it as state, public, or private-owned must be handed over to officials at designated checkpoints, and must not be cut or altered.
Checkpoints for bringing wood to officials have been set up in Sincheng (新城), Jian (吉安), Wanrong (萬榮) and Yuli (玉里) townships.
Unmarked driftwood collected for profit-making purposes must also be registered with the county for traceability purposes, but that collected for personal use may be taken without registration, the county said.
However, those intending to collect wood from rivers under the management of the county must first apply to the Hualien Economic Affairs Department before doing so, it said, adding that it is necessary for those collecting driftwood from rivers to have identification with them at all times.
The country also reminded the public that using machinery of any kind to remove wood from rivers is prohibited, and those doing so may incur fines up to NT$500,000.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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