The Legislative Yuan today passed amendments to the Fire Services Act (消防法) requiring property owners or managers to abide by new fire safety regulations or face up to seven years in jail if their negligence results in death or injury.
This bill was originally drafted in response to an industrial fire in Pingtung County last year that killed 10 firefighters and wounded nearly 100.
To ensure that firefighters are aware of dangers before going into a facility, property managers of large facilities are now required to provide maps, inventory of chemicals on site and other necessary information.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan Fire Department
All the information must also be uploaded to an online platform and provided to firefighters in the event of an incident, and there must also be personnel on site ready to brief firefighters on potential hazards.
The penalties for failing to provide maps or floor plans are NT$50,000 to NT$3 million (US$1,542 to US$92,518).
Failing to inform firefighters about chemical hazards is punishable by NT$100,000 to NT$5 million, in addition to a maximum seven-year prison sentence for deaths as a result of failing to abide by fire safety rules.
To encourage whistle-blowers, the new law gives any on-site employee the right to a percentage of the fine if they report illegal actions to authorities.
The amendment also establishes a new safety and health advisory council to make policy recommendations.
Both central and local firefighting organizations are required to set up specialized units for safety and health, with the fire chief serving as the head.
Furthermore, fire services should expand the ability of local firefighters to collaborate on policy or operational procedures.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS