Hujing to become Taiwan's first low-carbon island

The offshore county of Penghu has decided to make the county’s Hujing island Taiwan’s first low-carbon island by promoting electric motorcycles, offering free battery-charging services, county officials said. Borough Chief Chen Da-chuan cited the results of a recent survey showing that up to 68% of Hujing’s residents would be willing to replace their gasoline-powered motorcycles with electric ones. His plan echoed remarks by former Premier Liu Chao-shiuan, who said in July that the government will launch a “low-carbon community” that will involve the selection of an outlying island that will become a model for a low-carbon lifestyle, with at least 50% of the electricity on the island supplied from renewable sources. (October 26, 2009)