Taiwan should adopt legislation similar to that of other countries to combat light pollution, New Power Party Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said jointly with the Taiwan Dark-Sky Association on Saturday.
Since 2015, there have been about 2,300 annual cases of light pollution reported to authorities in Taipei and New Taipei City, she said.
However, while the nation has the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) to regulate air pollution, and the Noise Control Act (噪音管制法) to handle noise complaints, it has no laws to deal with light pollution, she said.
Photo courtesy of the Cingjing Tourism Association
“The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) promulgated guidelines for preventing light pollution in 2021, but there are no legal or administrative implications for those guidelines,” she said.
“The EPA has a negative attitude toward the issue,” she added.
International Dark-Sky Association executive director Ruskin Hartley said that tackling light pollution is a global trend.
Hartley, who recently visited Lienchiang County, cited local bylaws there that prevent light pollution as an example of this trend.
However, even there, people face hundreds of Chinese fishing boats that traverse nearby waters from June to October every year, using bright lights while fishing at night, he said.
Too much light is a waste of energy and also negatively impacts nearby ecology, Taiwan Dark-Sky Association chairman Axiou Lin (林正修) said.
“Excessive light can even impact people’s health, and things like the brightness and type of light, and the angle of light installations are all things that need attention,” he said.
“I hope the government can give the issue more serious thought,” he added.
Introducing legislation to tackle light pollution would also help the government reach its net zero carbon emissions goal, by using energy more efficiently, Chen said, adding that this could be done through the use of more energy-efficient lighting.
Chen said she asked the EPA to deliberate with government ministries, non-governmental organizations and experts on possible legislation to tackle light pollution, and to come up with a proposal within three months.
She also asked the Construction and Planning Agency to discuss possible changes to building standards to require more efficient lighting in all new buildings, the Directorate General of Highways to discuss more efficient street lighting, and the Council of Agriculture to look into more efficient lighting for fishers, she said.
The Bureau of Standards could consult with the International Commission on Illumination or other international standards to help it draft lighting standards for Taiwan, she said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS