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.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
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