It wasn't too long ago that the Taipei MRT system was held up as an example
of all that doesn't work in the city. Construction costs raced past their
original estimates, contractors filed lawsuits, tunnels that were meant to
meet up didn't connect and major roads were constantly clogged during the
seemingly interminable construction period. Foreigners also scratched their
heads at the addition of a woman's voice, apparently intended to provide the
"for-foreigners announcement," butchering the Mandarin name of practically
every stop - Tamshui came out as "am-Suey," as in Chop Suey.
But that's all over now that most of the kinks have been worked out and the
Panchiao-Nankang line is finally open, connecting the other two main lines
that previously just moved people along unlinked parallel axes.
Eager to put the darker chapters of the MRT's history behind it and bursting
with pride over the success of the completed initial stage of the system,
the Taipei City Government is hosting the 2002 World Metro Symposium and
Exhibition until Sunday.
On exhibit will be some of the tools used to make the MRT, among them a
massive tunnel borer and other mass transit technological gadgets that
should excite people who are deeply into heavy machinery or industrial
design.
A major purpose of the exhibition will be to examine the ways of integrating
mass transit into the city's social fabric, with Moscow, Paris and London
serving as exemplary models.
The exhibition will take place at the Taipei World Trade Center until Sunday
from 9am to 5pm. Entrance to the show is free.
“Taiwan’s Opposition Leader Comes to US With a Message Straight Out of Beijing” read a May 31 headline in the Wall Street Journal. Top US administration officials and members of Congress almost certainly read the WSJ, and if there was a bullet point takeaway that people in Washington should absorb ahead of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chair Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) arrival in DC on June 9, that headline is it. The last few columns have discussed this very topic, and the timing is not coincidental. While those top officials likely do not read the Taipei Times, judging by the number
With weighty, anxiety-inducing geopolitical topics dominating the headlines, checking in on the wild and weird state of local politics can take some of the edge off. This November’s elections will determine who will be in charge of fixing potholes in your neighborhood, not the potholes in Taiwan’s complicated geopolitical space. Recently, after an online interview with a Taipei-based journalist, I commented that Taipei journalists never go further than the MRT can take them. He laughed and agreed. Naturally, the Taipei mayoral race is eating up much of the press attention. TAIPEI CITY Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) has
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