Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (
Starting tomorrow, media outlets will have to apply for approval 48 hours in advance for reporters and photographers to enter the airport's restricted areas.
The airport police will forward the applications to the National Police Agency for a case-by-case assessment.
Privacy
Lee said that the decision to restrict access was made to maintain safety and order at the airport and prevent the exposure of government officials' secret visits abroad or the unannounced arrival of foreign political figures.
The changes would also reduce the discomfort of ordinary passengers who otherwise would be inconvenienced by the media.
Lee said the new regulations were written in accordance with international standards and examples, but were still more lax than in most countries.
For instance, the media in Singapore has to apply 10 days in advance for airport access, according to Lee.
48 hours
The National Police Agency originally requested that applications be filed 72 hours in advance, but the ministry decided on 48 hours, Lee said.
In emergencies, these restrictions will not apply, he said.
The interior minister added that better media facilities are now available at the airport, including special media interview areas and press rooms.
Better communication
Lee also stressed the importance of maintaining good communication between the police and the media at the airport.
Lee said that in the UK, airport personnel must supervise reporters who are conducting interviews, but the interior ministry decided against adopting such a regulation.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow