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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Freeway tolls no longer suspended for holiday nights
From left, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics （DGBAS） Minister Chu Tzer-ming, Executive Yuan spokesman Tung Chen-yuan, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai and National Development Council Deputy Minister Kao Shien-quey attend a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
By Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporter
The suspension of tolls on national freeways at night during vacations is to be canceled for the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday following its weekly meeting.
In a post-Cabinet meeting news conference, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai （王國材） said that in the past, when toll collection was suspended from 11pm to 6am during long vacations to divert the flow of traffic, “the actual result was limited, but more traffic crashes occurred during the early morning hours than during the day.”
Wang said that on average 34 percent of fatal crashes occurred during early morning hours when the toll-free measure was in place during holidays, while the total number of crashes was 1.4 times higher than during the day.
“The nighttime toll-free measure is to be canceled during the four-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday [from Thursday next week to June 12],” Wang said.
Executive Yuan spokesman Tung Chen-yuan （童振源） said that with an expected increase in the number of vehicles on the road during the day, Premier Lin Chuan （林全） has directed the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to draw up plans to channel traffic, while putting an emphasis on clearing crashes to keep the flow of traffic smooth.
Lin also thanked the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs （MOFA） for their efforts in the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva last month, Tung said, adding that Taiwan should seek to contribute to the international community and increase its global visibility by exporting medical assistance, equipment and technologies.
“Lin said that Taiwan has strong medical and health industries, and therefore actively participating in international affairs and fulfilling global responsibilities would be a way to increase our international visibility,” Tung said. “We would ask the MOFA to make international medical assistance the focus of its work.”
Tung went on to quote Lin as saying that exporting medical technologies could play a key role in the government’s New Southbound Policy to increase interactions with ASEAN countries.
The premier also said that he has received guidelines to set up an office for pension reform and ordered the creation of a pension reform committee with members from various ministries, including the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor.
Tung said that the committee would have 35 to 39 members, with Vice President Chen Chien-jen （陳建仁） as the head, while Minister without Portfolio Lin Wan-yi （林萬億） would be the deputy chairman.
The committee would be a consulting agency for President Tsai Ing-wen’s （蔡英文） efforts to push pension reforms, Tung added.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
