After weeks of controversy, EasyCard Corp (悠遊卡) chairman Tai Chi-chuan (戴季全) last night resigned as chairman and board member.
Tai said in a statement that he was sorry for having caused a major controversy that wasted resources, and that he could no longer let matters pertaining to his job hinder city officials’ policy addresses and the Taipei City Council’s budget review.
His announcement came one day after Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he had asked Tai to resign, adding that Tai would not serve as EasyCard general manager as had been agreed upon.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Tai became the focus of cross-party criticism from city councilors after the corporation issued special charity fund-raiser card sets featuring photographs of a Japanese porn star.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said she thought Tai and Ko had made the right decisions, although “a bit late.”
Ko responded to public expectations, Wu said, adding: “I hope the incident ends right here and the Taipei City Government can get back on track.”
“‘If there is a mistake, correct it,’ Ko-p [a nickname for Ko] has always said. The DPP caucus acknowledges Ko is learning from his mistakes, and we will continue to be his ally and help him recover,” she said.
Taipei City Council Speaker Wu Pi-chu (吳碧珠) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said she did not approve of Ko’s handling of the incident, but the outcome was “acceptable.”
“A subordinate should never let his superior take a bullet for him. With everyone wanting Tai to step down, Ko should have made this decision much earlier,” she said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
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