A slew of government and private-sector policy changes that would impact livelihood issues from the cost of airfares to rules governing the employment of migrant domestic workers are entering into effect this month.
Taipei is to unveil monthly rental parking spots for motorbikes with displacements over 250 cubic centimeters (cc) in 24 locations throughout the city, with eligible vehicles allowed to be parked at an angle and take up to two regular motorbike slots.
Starting yesterday, license tax for cars and motorbikes with displacements over 151cc could be paid via the government portal for local taxes, banks or convenience stores if the fees are less than NT$30,000 (US$939), the Ministry of Finance said.
Photo: CNA
Payment can be completed by automated teller machines, credit card and mobile phone payment applications, but people should avoid clicking suspicious-looking links if they use any online-based payment method, it said.
Soaring aviation fuel costs have led to a rise in the cost of travelling by air, with Cathay Pacific Airways raising the price of short, medium and long-range flights to US$50, US$93 and US$200 respectively.
EVA Air, China Airlines and Starlux Airlines separately announced plans to hike air fares that would be announced this month.
The International Civil Aviation Organization on Wednesday last week revealed changes to flight safety guidelines to ban passengers from carrying more than two mobile power banks, which must be turned off in flight. The devices could only be transported in carry-on luggage.
Almost all international airlines operating in Taiwan have followed suit and issued reminders about the novel rules to passengers.
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday rolled out measures to limit the number of travel inconvenience insurance policies to two per traveler on a trip and cap the coverage at NT$6,000.
The Ministry of Labor is relaxing the subsidized employment of migrant domestic workers for households, allowing families to hire one migrant worker for every child younger than12.
The employing household for the migrant domestic worker must pay NT$5,000 employment stabilization fee, but families deemed to be disadvantaged could reduce the amount to NT$2,000, with a priority in being matched with a worker, it said.
Post offices across the nation yesterday stopped processing registered international small packets to replace such services with ePacket, which offers online progress tracking, but no personal deliveries.
Registered airmail is limited to letters, postcards and documents only, state-run Chunghaw Post Co said, adding that the policy change is in line with global standards for public postal services.
The National Health Insurance Administration yesterday adjusted the price of 2,343 medical drugs, reducing the total medical cost to patients by about NT$3.62 billion.
The latest adjustment marks the lowest number of items with price changes since the implementation of the Drug Expenditure Target in 2013, the agency said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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