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.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
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