Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) suggested yesterday that the government impose fines of up to NT$30 million (US$911,854) on makers of counterfeit municipal garbage bags, saying that imposing heavy fines is the only effective way of stopping the practice.
According to Ma, Taipei City has decided to crack down on after recent spate of plastic garbage bag forgery cases.
Some of the fake garbage bags look so similar to ones made under the city government's authority that officials from the Taipei Bureau of Environmental Protection could not tell the difference between the fakes and the genuine bags at a press conference held Friday.
Speaking at another press conference yesterday, Ma said the city government has drafted a proposal that would raise fines for garbage bag forgery from the current range of NT$30,000-NT$100,000 to NT$300,000-NT$30 million and impose jail terms of 3-7 years on counterfeiters. He said the strict measures are intended to deter the illegal practice once and for all.
According to Ma, the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (環保署) has agreed to support a legislative amendment to related waste management and cleaning statutes so as to legitimize the heavy penalties for garbage bag counterfeiting.
Taipei is the first and so far the only city in Taiwan to adopt a garbage fee collection system, in which residents have to purchase the city government's official bags, the price of which includes a disposal fee.
Since Taipei's garbage collection system was implemented last July, the city's average daily garbage volume per person has dropped to 1.1kg, compared to about 3.3kg before.
The garbage fee collection system, which earns the city about NT$1.2 billion a month, has also attracted makers and suppliers of counterfeit garbage bags. According to Taipei City police headquarters, they received information on 56 cases of bag counterfeiting over the last several months and have cracked 14 of them.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old