ICRT Weekly Central Taiwan News, Jan. 6 transcript

Taichung hit with another transport snafu Taichung’s new policy of restricting the 10 kilometer free policy on buses to local citizens hit the streets on January 1, only to immediately run into trouble.Under the new policy, cash cards must be registered to qualify, and over 1 million Taichung citizens have already done so.However, some discovered […]

Taiwan Headlines, Jan. 3

A labor broker has been fined NT$1 million by the Fisheries Agency for deducting too much from the pay of eight migrant fishery workers for the repayment of loans.The fine was levied in September, but only made the news public after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a withhold release order (WRO) against […]

US Congress steps up for Taiwan–Taiwan Report News Brief transcript

US Congress passes laws providing support for Taiwan As part of the massive stimulus bill just signed by US President Donald Trump was a section on Taiwan called the “Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020.”Much of the content was “sense of Congress,” which isn’t legally binding on the executive branch, but does communicate what their expectations […]

Taiwan Headlines, Jan. 1

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has issued a directive for Taiwan schools to stop accepting entry permit applications by international students for at least one month.The decision was made after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday announced that the borders were to be closed to all except Taiwan nationals and foreign residents, with […]

Taiwan Headlines, Dec. 31

Starting Jan. 1, only Taiwan citizens, foreigners holding Taiwan residency and people in a few other categories will be allowed to enter the country.Exemptions to the entry ban also include diplomatic and service passport holders, business personnel who are fulfilling contractual obligations, humanitarian visa holders, the spouses or minor children of Taiwanese, and people who […]

Taiwan Headlines, Dec. 30

28,000 hectares of arable land, mainly rice paddies, in Hsinchu, Miaoli and Taichung will not be provided with water for irrigation for the spring harvest, due to lack of rain in the last half of this year.Local farmers will be compensated and subsidized for any stoppage measures imposed.Also, from Jan. 6, water already being provided […]

ICRT Weekly Central Taiwan News Report, Dec. 30–transcript

New Year’s festivities to go ahead Barring a last-minute coronavirus outbreak, Central Taiwan’s New Year’s Eve concerts and events look set to go ahead.Not everything is completely normal, however, with various measures being taken due to the pandemic.At the main New Year’s Eve event and concert in Taichung’s Central Park, attendees will be limited to […]

Taiwan Headlines, Dec. 29

At 24.62 degrees Celsius, Taiwan saw its highest average temperature on record in 2020 since the country began keeping climate records in 1947.It also surpassed the previous record set in 2019.Temperatures in every month except for April and October placed among the top 10 in history. The Council of Agriculture has announced that as of […]

Taiwan Headlines, Dec. 28

The Taiwan People’s Party is enacting new rules requiring central standing committee members to raise NT$1 million per year for the party.The KMT has a similar policy. Former President Chen Shui-bian has announced that starting on January 3rd he will be hosting a show every Sunday morning on Smile Radio.Taichung Prison, however, stated they haven’t […]