POLITICS
E-vote system to launch
The Central Election Commission (CEC) is to introduce on April 10 an electronic system to facilitate the proposing of national referendums. The establishment of the system aligns with the provisions of the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which was amended in 2019 to require the government to create a mechanism for better solicitation of referendum proposals and the collection of signatures, the CEC said in a news release on Friday. Referendum campaigners would be able to use the system to create a Web site for people to sign up to petitions, it said. Those supporting a referendum proposal would be required to apply for a Citizen Digital Certificate for NT$250 and use a card-reader to upload their information along with a personal identification number and their national ID card number, to the Web site, the CEC said.
TRANSPORTATION
TPass renewal expanded
Starting on Friday next week, Taiwan Railway (TR) passengers would be able to use automated ticket machines at train stations across the nation to renew their “TPass” public transport passes, the operator said. All 432 machines can be used by passengers to renew their passes for another 30 days from their expiry date, it said. However, passengers are required to complete the process within 10 days before their pass expires, and it can only be extended on the same travel plan, it said. Passengers can only renew their TPass in the region their plan covers, it added. For example, “Taipei-New Taipei-Keelung-Taoyuan” TPass users can only renew their plans at TR stations in the four cities, it said. The TPass scheme was launched as part of a NT$380 billion (US$12.1 billion) post-pandemic economic recovery package passed by lawmakers in March last year. The 30-day unlimited transport pass can be used for railway, metro, bus, light-rail and ferry journeys, as well as YouBike rentals across multiple regions in Taiwan.
LEISURE
Taipei Zoo to raise prices
Taipei Zoo is to increase ticket prices from April 1 after Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) approved the move late last month. A regular ticket is to rise from NT$60 to NT$100, but Taipei residents can continue to pay the current price, the zoo said. Prices for concessionary tickets are to rise to NT$50 from NT$30, and discounted tickets for groups of 30 or more are to see a NT$28 increase to NT$70, it said. Taipei residents younger than 12 and senior citizens would continue to receive free access, it added. Meanwhile, ticket prices for the Taipei Zoo Education Center and shuttle train inside the zoo are to remain the same. The price increase would add about NT$41 million to the zoo’s coffers, which would be used to improve living conditions for the animals, it said.
CONSUMER
Heysong to hike prices
Taiwanese food and drink producer Heysong Corp on Friday announced price increases for several sports beverages and soda products starting on March 1. Apart from the Heysong-branded soda drinks, the company said it would, for the first time, raise the listed prices of its Fin-branded sports drinks and C&C-branded soda drinks due to rising raw material and transportation costs. The prices of the 330ml canned Heysong and C&C products would see the sharpest increase — 25 percent — to NT$25. The listed prices of 580ml and 975ml bottles of Fin drinks are to rise from NT$25 to NT$29 and from NT$35 to NT$39 respectively.
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
POLICE INVESTIGATING: A man said he quit his job as a nurse at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital as he had been ‘disgusted’ by the behavior of his colleagues A man yesterday morning wrote online that he had witnessed nurses taking photographs and touching anesthetized patients inappropriately in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital’s operating theaters. The man surnamed Huang (黃) wrote on the Professional Technology Temple bulletin board that during his six-month stint as a nurse at the hospital, he had seen nurses taking pictures of patients, including of their private parts, after they were anesthetized. Some nurses had also touched patients inappropriately and children were among those photographed, he said. Huang said this “disgusted” him “so much” that “he felt the need to reveal these unethical acts in the operating theater
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese
WARFARE: The PLA aims to use space-based capabilities to enhance its force projection to make the Indo-Pacific region too costly for the US to protect, experts said China is rapidly building space capabilities to be able to launch precision strikes on Taiwan, the US and its allies, US Space Force leaders said at a recent conference in London. China is developing counterspace warfare capabilities including GPS jamming systems and anti-satellite missiles at “breathtaking speed,” said General Stephen Whiting, commander of the US Space Command. In the past six years, Beijing tripled its number of dedicated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites, while rapidly fielding dual-use satellites, Whiting said, adding that the capabilities are honed for detecting movements at sea. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might have already achieved substantial benefits