A slew of new measures and regulations are to come into effect on Wednesday, covering the Executive Yuan’s Triple Stimulus Voucher program, vehicle licensing, a Green Living campaign and an expansion of the food allergens required to be listed on labeling.
As of Wednesday, people can order their NT$3,000 vouchers online, and link their order to either their credit card or a mobile payment service.
A range of domestic travel subsidies would also be available until Oct. 1, with tour group members eligible for NT$700 per person per night at a hotel and NT$1,200 at a hotel on Kinmen, Matsu or Penghu, while independent travelers would receive NT$1,000 per night.
Taiwanese born after July 1, 2001, are eligible for free entry to amusement parks until Aug. 31, and Taiwan Tour Bus passengers on half-day or full-day trips would get “buy one, get one free” offers.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said that drivers of all vehicles would be allowed to apply for license plates, examinations or other services at all motor vehicle offices nationwide, not just their local offices, while the age limit for professional drivers of large passenger vehicles is to be conditionally expanded to 68 years.
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is to be licensed as food additive under the Application and Limitation of Food Additives (食品添加物使用範圍及限量暨規格標準) and the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), the Food and Drug Administration said.
Mandatory food allergen labels would now cover 11 allergens: shellfish, mangoes, peanuts, cow or goat milk, eggs, nuts, sesame, gluten-containing grains, soybeans, fish and fish products, and sulfites, it said.
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is to launch a Green Living campaign to encourage people to eat at eco-friendly restaurants to earn “green points” that can be exchanged for discounts.
Stricter standards in the Drinking Water Quality Standards (飲用水水質標準) covering nickel, mercury, chloride, vinyl chloride, toluene and xylene take effect on Wednesday, the EPA added.
Businesses with more than 200 employees must implement a respiratory protection plan, the Ministry of Labor said.
SCHEDULE: The delegation is due to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen this morning and witness the signing of an MOU on bilateral health cooperation in the afternoon US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar yesterday arrived in Taipei aboard a US government plane at the head of a delegation that is the highest-level visit by a US official since Washington switched diplomatic recognition to China in 1979. Azar’s flight landed at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at 4:48pm, nearly one hour earlier than scheduled, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The apron where it landed is reserved for military aircraft, the Songshan Air Force Base Command said. The members of Azar’s delegation included HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec, HHS Chief of Staff Brian
CHINESE FIGHTERS: Beijing marked the US Cabinet member’s visit by briefly sending two warplanes across the median line of the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday met with US Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar in the highest-level official meeting between the two nations since 1979. “It is a true honor to be here to convey a message of strong support and friendship from [US] President [Donald] Trump to Taiwan,” Azar said during the open portion of his courtesy call to the Presidential Office, which was streamed live online before Tsai and Azar held a closed-door meeting. “Taiwan’s response to COVID-19 has been among the most successful in the world, and that is a tribute to the open, transparent,
ALEX AZAR: The first visit by a head of the Department of Health and Human Services would strictly observe the CECC’s special regulations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar is to lead a delegation to Taiwan — the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official since the two sides cut formal relations in 1979. The plan was announced yesterday morning by the US Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Beijing has expressed its concerns to Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said later yesterday. Taiwan and the US only issued statements saying that the visit would happen “in the coming days.” MOFA said that due to security concerns, it would
‘CROSS-STRAIT CONSIDERATIONS’: Groups said that the Ministry of Education’s policies excluded Chinese and students should not be blocked over political issues The Taiwan International Student Movement yesterday said it would protest today outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei against a policy that excludes some Chinese students from returning to Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June 17, the ministry has allowed foreign students from 19 “low risk” and “medium-low risk” countries and regions to enter Taiwan. On July 22, it announced that it was relaxing restrictions to include students from all countries and regions who are graduating this semester and on Wednesday it further expanded entry to students enrolled in degree programs. A letter sent by the ministry on Wednesday to universities did
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