The government should crack down on vehicles that have been modified to make their exhaust systems louder than factory settings, the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Bureau said.
Citing media reports, the bureau said in a July 20 report that multiple complaints had been made about alleged drag races in Kaohsiung’s Hamasen (哈瑪星) and Shaochuantou (哨船頭) neighborhoods, which involved vehicles with aftermarket exhausts intended to make them louder.
Vehicles with such modifications are a public nuisance, and exhaust kits are becoming less expensive and more widely available in auto shops, the report said.
“Young drivers are modifying their vehicles, while dangerous driving takes over the roads, disrupting social order and tranquility,” it said.
Under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), people who make vehicle modifications that compromise its safe operation can be fined NT$900 to NT$1,800, while those who remove a vehicle’s muffler or make excessive noise by other means face fines of NT$6,000 to NT$24,000. Vehicles that exceed noise control standards could be fined NT$1,800 to NT$3,600 under the Noise Control Act (噪音管制法).
Law enforcement, road management and environmental protection officials should monitor roads for vehicles modified with loud exhausts as a deterrent, the report said.
Emission regulations in the EU and Japan apply to original equipment manufacturers, aftermarket suppliers and drivers, it said, adding that similar measures should be adopted in Taiwan to halt the sale of aftermarket exhaust kits designed to produce excessive noise.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS