Sports-betting ads need regulation: DPP lawmaker
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
The government is giving people running online sports-betting commercials “a break from the law” rather than regulating them, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said yesterday, calling on the National Communications Commission (NCC) to push for passage of a draft digital communications act to hold online platform operators accountable for the content they air.
Lin made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, as he asked NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) about the commission’s progress in drafting the act.
Although gambling is forbidden in Taiwan, online platforms such as YouTube are allowed to air commercials that encourage people to bet on sports games, Lin said.
Minister pledges review amid licensing scandal
‘NO OVERSIGHT’: Sung Li-heng had for more than 10 years allegedly received up to NT$8,000 for each yachting license he produced for people who did not pass the test
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday promised a comprehensive review of the yachting license distribution system after an associate technician at the Maritime and Port Bureau was indicted last week for allegedly exploiting loopholes in the system and accepting bribes from people wanting to purchase licenses for more than 10 years.
Lin made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, where he had been asked to brief lawmakers on the case and the ministry’s plan to address the potentially systematic problem.
No Chinese-made batteries in electric buses, MOTC says
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Two manufacturers in a Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) pilot project for electric buses use battery cells made in Japan, not China, the ministry said last week.
The ministry issued the statement after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said that the ministry was subsidizing purchases of electric buses powered by Chinese-made battery cells.
Apart from providing a subsidy of up to NT$10 million (US$354,773) to bus operators for each electric bus they buy, the ministry also requires that a majority of the components in the vehicles be made in Taiwan to qualify for the subsidy.
With images of green iguanas being tortured and blown up with firecrackers going viral on the Internet and gaining international attention, the government needs to seriously re-examine its handling of the highly invasive species.
Few people are arguing against the need to drastically contain the green iguana population, which has increased 27-fold over the past five years. Imported as pets and abandoned in an environment where they have no natural predators, they are considered a threat to Taiwan’s agriculture and ecosystem, as they destroy crops, force out native species and damage irrigation canals.
It is unfortunate that the government has to exterminate