The public is set to be able to ride the new Songshan line of Taipei’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system after it opens early today. As with anything new, there is bound to be some confusion as passengers figure out new transfer points, and which lines offer the quickest journey to their destination.
However, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) decided to add to the confusion — at least as far as foreign passengers go — by announcing on Monday that with the opening of the new line would come a shift in the way the five MRT lines are referred to in English.
As of today, the Wenhu Line (文湖線) will be referred to as “Line One,” the Tamsui-Xinyi Line (淡水信義線) will be “Line Two,” the Songshan-Xindian Line (松山新店線) becomes “Line Three,” the Zhonghe-Xinlu line (中和新蘆線) “Line Four” and the Bannan Line (板南線) “Line Five.”
Why?
Since this shift is likely to only affect those who do not read Chinese characters, it seems that foreign tourists are the intended beneficiaries, not expatriates, as tourists presumably find it too difficult to read the Chinese transliteration of MRT line and station names.
Of course, if the TRTC had wanted to make life easier for everyone, Taiwanese and foreigner alike, it could have just gone with a color-coded or number system from the very beginning, instead of having to change line names as the system expanded.
Making the change now seems like a waste of time and money — and more than a little reminiscent of the Taipei City Government’s move, back when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was mayor, to introduce a numbering system for 24 major roads which was supposed to help foreigners find their way around.
The names were not changed, the streets were just given “nicknames,” so that 10 east-west roads were each assigned a number and labeled boulevards — Xinyi Road became “2B” for 2nd Boulevard — while north-south roads were labeled avenues, giving Zhongshan Road the catchy nickname “6A” for 6th Avenue.
Taipei’s transportation and civil affairs departments teamed up with the Taiwan Visitors Association to publish reference maps for distribution to taxi drivers and tourists so that when a foreigner got in a cab asking to be taken to an address on 3rd Boulevard, the driver would be able to figure out where to go.
The plan was met largely with derision, with many people pointing out that most of the confusion foreigners faced in trying to navigate Taipei (and other cities in Taiwan) was caused by the inability of government departments on all levels to agree on a Romanization system to provide consistent signage. Was Renai Road the same as “Jenai,” or “Ren Ai?”
For a few years, the civil affairs department added doorplates along the 24 streets with Roman serial numbers, and these weathered signs are about the only survivors of the numbering plan left. It was dead long before Ma finished his second term as mayor.
However, Taipei recently encountered a bigger identity problem than spelling or numbers, as noticed by editors at Thinking Taiwan and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) earlier this week. It lost its status as the nation’s capital among government bureaucrats. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems to be developing some early signs of dementia, such as not being able to remember where you live. The new The Republic of China (Taiwan) at a Glance brochure produced by the ministry listed no capital city, although previous versions had listed Taipei. In the new version, Taipei was simply listed as one of the five “special municipalities.”
After DPP lawmakers raised questions about the vanishing capital in the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday, the ministry updated the brochure’s information on its Web site to return Taipei to its place of prominence.
Again, the only question to ask is “why?”
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