Tougher fines for failure to yield to pedestrians, which caused 344 deaths in 2022

2023-02-03

Fines for motorists who fail to yield to pedestrians are about to get stiffer in Taiwan as early as the end of March. The move comes after a CNN report that referred to Taiwan’s traffic as a "living hell" for pedestrians.

The new rules will raise the relevant fines to NT$3,600 for car and truck drivers. At the moment they face a maximum fine of NT$2,000 and NT$2,800, respectively. Fines for scooter riders will stay the same at NT$1,200. According to government figures from 2022, 344 pedestrians were killed by drivers who failed to yield to them, and a total of 50,356 infractions were reported last year.

汽車未禮讓行人將重罰3600元最快3月底上路

2023-02-03

台灣交安事故多，曾被外媒評為「行人地獄」，為了洗刷惡名，交通部預告修法，若汽車行經行人穿越道不暫停讓行人先行通過，將提高罰則，最快3月底就會上路。

根據統計，去年車輛未禮讓行人違規件數，就多達5萬356件，全年，造成344名行人死亡。現行規定小型車處罰2000元、大型車處罰2800元，未來將一律開罰3600元，機車則是維持1200元。

US House Speaker McCarthy says he currently has no plans for a Taiwan visit

The speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, has spoken to the media for the first time about reports saying he will visit Taiwan this spring. The Republican politician said he had "nothing scheduled," but added China had no right to tell him whether he was allowed to go or not. State Department spokesman Ned Price added that the U.S. government was concerned that China would use McCarthy’s potential trip as an excuse to undermine the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

Citing unnamed officials, American media reports had claimed that the resolutely anti-Communist speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, could visit Taiwan this spring, sparking speculation. Now McCarthy has responded directly to these reports on camera for the first time.

Kevin McCarthy
U.S. House speaker
I don’t have anything scheduled right now. Let me be very clear. China is never going to tell me when I can or can’t go. But I have nothing scheduled now to go to Taiwan.”

The politician stressed that he could go wherever he wanted to, and China had no right to make criticisms. When asked about the possibility of McCarthy becoming the third U.S. House Speaker to visit Taiwan since the breaking of diplomatic ties, the State Department gave the following response:

Ned Price
US state department spokesperson
I am not aware that the speaker has announced any travel to Taiwan. The problem on the part of any speaker of the House of Representatives, it is a decision that he or she, that he or she alone would make. Congress is an independent branch of government. The PRC, our concern is, will use the travel as a pretext to intensify what it has been doing over the course of many years now, attempting to erode the status quo, the status quo that has really been at the heart of decades of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Su Tzu-yun
Institute for National Defense and Security Research
What McCarthy expresses is the independent foreign policy of Congress. Price was affirming his support for the foreign policy and actions of the House Speaker.

It’s not only the U.S. that is concerned about the situation in the Taiwan Strait. Japanese foreign minister Hayashi Yoshimasa stressed the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang. The British and Australian foreign ministries have also issued a joint statement that say in addition to underscoring the importance of peace and stability, their foreign ministers also oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo.

William Burns
CIA Director
Our assessment at the CIA is that I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s ambitions with regard to Taiwan. He’s been pretty clear about that over the years. I think he’s watched very carefully, it seems to us, previous experience in Ukraine, and been a little bit unsettled and sobered by that as well.

On top of all this, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit China on Sunday, where the Taiwan issue is bound to be the focus in Sino-U.S. tensions.

2023-02-03

Czech Chamber of Deputies dismisses Chinese criticism over planned Taiwan visit

This week a historic phone call between President Tsai Ing-wen and the president-elect of the Czech Republic has thrust the two countries into the international spotlight. And developments continue. The speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies was recently condemned by China, after announcing that she was planning to lead a delegation to Taiwan next month. In a recent interview, the speaker has said that she will not back out from her plans, as Czechia will not allow others to tell it where representatives can or cannot go.

Czech Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marketa Pekarova Adamova previously announced that she would be visiting Taiwan in March. In a recent television interview with media, she was asked to comment on China’s strong opposition to the visit, and whether she was really going to go.

Marketa Pekarova Adamova
Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies
Yes I will. We don’t want anyone to tell us where to go. Be it China or other people. My Taiwan trip has been in the works for many months, and I announced it a long time ago. We have no plans to make any changes.

China’s Foreign Ministry has decried the planned visit, saying that “China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between its Taiwan region and countries having diplomatic ties with China,” adding that it opposes any political manipulation using the “Taiwan question.” Still that has not deterred the Czech politician in the slightest.

Marketa Pekarova Adamova
Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies
It was completely expected, but their reaction will not change our decision.

Pekarova Adamova says her plan is to lead a delegation of scholars and business people to Taiwan. She says she is also very interested in learning more about Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.

Earlier this week, the President-elect of Czechia and Tsai Ing-wen captured headlines around the world after speaking on the phone. Observers took it as a major sign of warming relations between the two countries, as it was the first time that the leader-elect of a European country spoke directly with Taiwan’s president.

Tsai Shih-ying
ROC-Czech Parliamentary Amity Association
It’s very meaningful on several fronts. First of all, of course, it shows that democracies stand in unity, and that Taiwan and the Czech Republic are deeply democratic countries. It is an exchange between parliaments, so it is not affected by the Czech Republic’s “one China” policy.

Marc Cheng
European Union Centre in Taiwan
China always voices opposition to engagements with Taiwan conducted by countries, groups or individuals. It doesn’t matter if they are official exchanges, or unofficial. Their position is always opposition.

And Czechia is not the only European country to send a delegation to Taiwan. A delegation from Switzerland is expected to arrive this weekend.

2023-02-03

Taipei International Book Exhibition highlights

The Taipei International Book Exhibition is on at Taipei World Trade Center until Feb. 5, with 32 countries and more than 200 authors and 470 publishers represented at the event. Each year, the exhibition would have one country serve as highlght of the year. This year, that country is Poland and eight Polish authors and illustrators have joined a series of events. Our reporter Stephany Yang was at the event and spoke to several authors and editors.

Stephany Yang
FTV reporter
The Taipei International Book Exhibition has kicked off. Poland is serving as the event’s guest of honor for the first time.

Eight Polish authors and illustrators have been invited to give talks at the Polish Pavilion. One of them is Rafat Kosik, an award-winning Polish science fiction author. He’s in Taiwan to promote his newest book, which will be published this year.

Rafat Kosik
Polish author
This is an adventure story but also not just an action book, but also sociological science fiction so it is something to inspire others to think about our future.

Cyryl Kozaczewski
Polish Office in Taipei director
Here we are in Taipei to present polish literature, creative arts, music, and cuisine. Poland and Taiwan have a lot in common. We share the same democratic values, we appreciate the beauty of nature, and we have similar culinary habits.

Poland is serving as the Taipei International Book Exhibition’s guest of honor for the first time. The Polish Pavilion is designed by a renowned artist, with laser red engraved patterns to showcase the culture of Poland.

Dariusz Jaworski
The Polish Book Institute
This year’s themed pavilion is designed by a well-known designer. The color and the pattern it uses can be traced back the traditions and culture of Poland.

Several countries including Ukraine, Germany, Japan, France and Thailand, among others, are exhibiting at the event. This year the fair has invited more than 200 writers, international publishers, and editors from 32 countries to participate.

The fair will feature a variety of activities including lectures, performances, book-signing events, and DIY workshops. The Taipei International Book Exhibition will be on at the Taipei World Trade Center until Feb. 5.

2023-02-03

Kinmen to get first McDonald’s restaurant, 39 years after company enters Taiwan

2023-02-03

A baby pangolin is born in Europe by Taiwanese pangolins on loan from the Taipei

2023-02-03

Analyst expects a sluggish first half of 2023 for Taiwan shares

2023-02-03

Taiwanese charity donates items worth over NT$300,000 to hurricane-stricken Belize

Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Lisa in November last year, many areas in the Central American nation of Belize are still under reconstruction. A Taiwanese charity, the Happy Home World Alliance International, has raised funds to help the nation, which is one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies.Among many donations, the charity has raised NT$300,000 to buy tablet computers, so that Belizean students can learn online and not have their studies interrupted by the aftermath of the hurricane.

NT$300,000 in donations is handed over to Candice Pitts, the Belize ambassador. A hurricane last year caused floods in many Belizean cities, damaging many houses. Taiwan’s Happy Home World Alliance International came to the Central American nation’s aide and solicited donations from Taiwanese of all walks of life to purchase tablet computers that will allow Belizean school children to continue with their studies. In addition, there were donations of items that hurricane victims will need for their daily lives.

Candice Pitts
Belize ambassador to Taiwan
Hurricane Lisa had hit Belize and wreaked astronomical damages on Belize, but particularly on the city of Belize. They will definitely use these electronic devices for their online classes or in the classroom for those who have returned to the classroom.

Chang Kun-chih
Happy Home World Alliance International
The organizations that we’ve had long-term cooperation with, particularly St. Dominic Catholic High School, have donated NT$300,000 for purchasing tablet computers, and we’ve also asked students to donate clothes and other personal items.

When the Sports Administration heard the news, it also called on two other NGOs, and in just a few days, they managed to raise NT$400,000 to buy football equipment. They hope that through sports the denizens of this Taiwanese diplomatic ally can feel positive energy.

Lin Cheh-hung
Sports Administration deputy head
When I heard the news before the Lunar New Year, I immediately contacted the sports federations for high schools and universities. They were very enthusiastic about raising a lot of equipment and materials. I hope these kinds of loving gestures will get the ball rolling and attract more companies to participate.

Aside from Belize, Taiwan also intends to make donations to ally St. Vincent and the Grenadines, because a volcano erupted there over a year ago, and as many as 20,000 people were evacuated. When it comes to its diplomatic allies, Taiwan shows its support with practical actions.

2023-02-03

Exhibition explores how our actions today will affect humanity 100 and 200 years from now

Brace yourself for a future shock! A new exhibition in Taipei takes us to the world in the future, showing us what life may be like 100 or 200 years from now. It features interactive games and artworks that highlight the effects that our daily actions right now are having on climate change. The hope is that people will become more aware of how they can take small steps today to protect our planet in the future. Our reporter Stephany Yang takes us in for a look.

As soon as you walk into this exhibition, you see a large bottle with plants inside. In this imaginary future, due to the extinction of biodiversity, people can only learn about plants by looking at the only ones that have survived by growing inside bottles.

Here is an installation of a monster made out of machinery. In 2222, all living things may be extinct, with only machines left on the surface of the earth. This new exhibition in Taipei predicts what an abandoned city of 2222 could look like and how plants may need to rely on machines to survive.

Stephany Yang
FTV reporter
Plastic takes more than 400 years to decompose. This room showcases what the ocean might look like in 2122.

Then, travel to 2122. A mountain of discarded plastics is piled up in the room to allow people to see what happens when they don’t recycle.

In another room, visitors can don earphones and listen to the sounds of the ocean. The noise pollution you hear symbolizes the effects of over-fishing and marine pollution in general.

Shen Shih-wei
Exhibition organizer
Each display area has its own special features. For example, the first area imagines the world after two centuries. By creating a museum exhibition that you might see in the future, everyone can get a sense of what lies ahead. There are art installations featuring plants that rely on machines to survive. In the second area, we discuss marine pollution and how it can destroy an environment. We use sound as a means to let everyone hear that if there are pollutants present, the sound will be like this. This is also quite destructive to the environment.

Stephany Yang
FTV reporter
Here at this exhibition, you can choose a selection of foods, weigh them, and figure out how much carbon is in each food.

The last exhibition area takes visitors to the present day to encourage you to take action now. Here, visitors can learn about the amount of carbon emissions embodied in their food. There are also artworks and objects with labels and showcasing daily green habits. This exhibition has four major exhibition areas. Through immersive works and games, it hopes to encourage people to think about their actions and reflect on how to change their behavior today.

Huang Yu-feng
Exhibition organizer
We hope that through an immersive experience from the perspective of people in the future, it can show us how the choices we make now may affect the world 200 years later, and cause it to become a different world. Through art, technology, and fun interactive experiences, we hope to convey that sustainability is an attitude to life.

The exhibition will be on at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei till April 5.

2023-02-03

Tougher fines for failure to yield to pedestrians, which caused 344 deaths in 2022