Host of new regulations to take effect in 2025

Taipei, Dec. 29 (CNA) Taiwan's government will implement a range of new regulations in 2025, with changes including a higher minimum wage, an expansion of free cancer screenings and tighter environmental rules for hotels.

CNA has compiled some of the more notable changes below:

Minimum wage hike

Taiwan's minimum monthly wage will increase by 4.08 percent, from NT$27,470 to NT$28,590 (US$870.33) with effect from Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, the minimum hourly wage will be raised from NT$183 to NT$190 -- an increase of about 3.8 percent.

The increases, which the Ministry of Labor estimates will affect around 2.57 million salaried employees and hourly workers, will not apply to live-in migrant caregivers and domestic helpers, who are not covered by Taiwan's Labor Standards Act.

Expanded Culture Points program

Taiwan residents aged 16-22 will again be eligible to claim NT$1,200 in cash handouts, known as Culture Points, to spend on cultural activities or at related venues in 2025.

For the first time, the initiative will also be expanded to offer NT$600 in Culture Points to kids aged 13-15, according to the Ministry of Culture (MOC).

Citizens of Taiwan and foreign nationals holding alien resident certificates (ARCs) who were born between Jan. 1, 2003 and Dec. 31, 2012, will be able to claim the handouts digitally through an MOC app from Jan. 1, 2025.

The points, each equivalent to NT$1, can be used at designated independent bookstores, record stores, live music events and venues, cultural parks, bazaars and screenings of Taiwanese films during 2025.

Online passport renewal, lower minimum age for e-Gate

An online passport renewal application service that recently launched on a trial basis will be fully implemented starting in 2025.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the service is available to Taiwan nationals aged 18 and above; who have household registrations in Taiwan; whose passports have already expired; and who do not need to make any changes to the personal information in their passport.

After completing the online application, applicants will be able to pick up their new passport 10 days later at a Bureau of Consular Affairs office by showing their national ID card and online application receipt.

Meanwhile, the National Immigration Agency has announced expanded eligibility for the e-Gate program -- an automated alternative to manual immigration clearance at Taiwan's airports.

From Jan. 1, enrollment in the program will be open to people aged 10 and above with a height of at least 120 centimeters (down from age 12 and 140 cm originally), according to the agency.

Hotels to stop offering free single-use toiletries

Under new Ministry of the Environment regulations, hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs will no longer provide liquid toiletries and body care products (shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and lotion) in single-use containers with a capacity of under 180 milliliters for free.

The rules will also cover personal hygiene items such as combs, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shaving cream and shower caps.

People will still be able to request these products at hotels, but they will have to pay for them, the ministry said.

New rules to limit motorcycle exhaust noise

Under laws taking effect on Jan. 1, motorcycle owners who replace or modify their exhaust pipes must use parts authorized by the Ministry of the Environment, and must have them inspected and registered at their local motor vehicles office.

The rules are intended to curb noise pollution from modified motorcycles, though it is unclear if the NT$900-NT$1,800 fines will be sufficient to deter would-be violators.

Expansion of free cancer screenings

From Jan. 1, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) will expand the eligibility criteria for a number of free cancer screenings in Taiwan.

For colorectal cancer screenings, the eligibility for biennial subsidized fecal occult blood tests will be expanded from the current age range of 50-74 to include those aged 45-49, and those aged 40-44 with a family history of the disease.

As for cervical cancer screenings, the age limit for subsidized pap smear tests for women will be lowered from 30 and above to 25 and above.

Meanwhile, testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) -- a virus that can cause cervical cancer and cancers of the external genital organs in both men and women -- will also be introduced as a one-time test for women when they reach the ages of 35, 45 and 65.

For breast cancer screenings, subsidized biennial mammograms will be available for woman in the 40-74 age range, instead of the current 45-70 age group.

Finally, low-dose computer tomography (CT) scans for lung cancer, originally available to men aged 50-74 and woman aged 45-74 with a family history of the disease, will be lowered to 45-74 for men and 40-74 for women, respectively.

Low-dose CT screening will also be made available to people within the expanded age group who smoke more than 20 packs of cigarettes per year.

Vaccines

Taiwan's government will offer free flu vaccines shots to all unvaccinated residents aged 6 months and older starting Jan. 1 until the vaccine supply is used up.

Meanwhile, the government will also make available 200,000 doses of Novavax's JN.1 COVID-19 vaccine from Jan. 1. The vaccine will be limited to recipients aged 12 and up who have not already taken the Moderna JN.1 vaccine.