The government is to allocate NT$10 billion (US$312.84 million) next year to subsidize local governments in enhancing the safety of 600 accident-prone intersections nationwide, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said.
The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year, he added.
The minister first made the pledge at the “Stop Killing Pedestrians” rally organized by the Vision Zero group on Sunday.
Photo: CNA
Addressing participants at the rally, Wang apologized for failing the public’s expectations on creating a safe transportation environment and promised to enhance the safety of 600 accident-prone intersections across the country in the short term and achieving “Zero Pedestrian Deaths” by 2040.
Elaborating on his pledge, Wang yesterday disclosed the funding plan for the project in Kaohsiung, where he was invited by the Executive Yuan’s Southern Taiwan Joint Services Center to speak to government workers participating in a leadership program.
“We have begun to list 600 accident-prone intersections, including 200 in six special municipalities, 200 near public transportation depots and schools, and 200 in other cities and counties,” Wang told reporters on the sidelines of the speech.
The funding would be used to subsidize local governments and the Directorate-General of Highways in addressing the safety in these intersections, he said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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