POLITICS
E-vote system to launch
The Central Election Commission (CEC) is to introduce on April 10 an electronic system to facilitate the proposing of national referendums. The establishment of the system aligns with the provisions of the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which was amended in 2019 to require the government to create a mechanism for better solicitation of referendum proposals and the collection of signatures, the CEC said in a news release on Friday. Referendum campaigners would be able to use the system to create a Web site for people to sign up to petitions, it said. Those supporting a referendum proposal would be required to apply for a Citizen Digital Certificate for NT$250 and use a card-reader to upload their information along with a personal identification number and their national ID card number, to the Web site, the CEC said.
TRANSPORTATION
TPass renewal expanded
Starting on Friday next week, Taiwan Railway (TR) passengers would be able to use automated ticket machines at train stations across the nation to renew their “TPass” public transport passes, the operator said. All 432 machines can be used by passengers to renew their passes for another 30 days from their expiry date, it said. However, passengers are required to complete the process within 10 days before their pass expires, and it can only be extended on the same travel plan, it said. Passengers can only renew their TPass in the region their plan covers, it added. For example, “Taipei-New Taipei-Keelung-Taoyuan” TPass users can only renew their plans at TR stations in the four cities, it said. The TPass scheme was launched as part of a NT$380 billion (US$12.1 billion) post-pandemic economic recovery package passed by lawmakers in March last year. The 30-day unlimited transport pass can be used for railway, metro, bus, light-rail and ferry journeys, as well as YouBike rentals across multiple regions in Taiwan.
LEISURE
Taipei Zoo to raise prices
Taipei Zoo is to increase ticket prices from April 1 after Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) approved the move late last month. A regular ticket is to rise from NT$60 to NT$100, but Taipei residents can continue to pay the current price, the zoo said. Prices for concessionary tickets are to rise to NT$50 from NT$30, and discounted tickets for groups of 30 or more are to see a NT$28 increase to NT$70, it said. Taipei residents younger than 12 and senior citizens would continue to receive free access, it added. Meanwhile, ticket prices for the Taipei Zoo Education Center and shuttle train inside the zoo are to remain the same. The price increase would add about NT$41 million to the zoo’s coffers, which would be used to improve living conditions for the animals, it said.
CONSUMER
Heysong to hike prices
Taiwanese food and drink producer Heysong Corp on Friday announced price increases for several sports beverages and soda products starting on March 1. Apart from the Heysong-branded soda drinks, the company said it would, for the first time, raise the listed prices of its Fin-branded sports drinks and C&C-branded soda drinks due to rising raw material and transportation costs. The prices of the 330ml canned Heysong and C&C products would see the sharpest increase — 25 percent — to NT$25. The listed prices of 580ml and 975ml bottles of Fin drinks are to rise from NT$25 to NT$29 and from NT$35 to NT$39 respectively.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS