On Sept 28 the message “Attention! Ongoing maintenance” written in simplified Chinese characters was discovered on a mobile barrier in Chaojhou station in Pingtung County. The barrier was placed in full view in the main hall of the station. Angry passengers asked whether they were travelling on Taiwan’s rail network or China’s.
There were at least 10 barriers with simplified Chinese characters on them in Chaojhou station, placed in the entrances and exits where people need to pass, not concealed in any way. Commuters angrily pointed out on seeing “Attention! Ongoing maintenance” written in simplified Chinese characters on the construction barriers that they thought they were travelling by train in China, and that they were caught unawares. They were surprised that the station staff had not noticed, and found that really odd.
Chaojhou station master Chen Chun-hsing clarified that the station’s construction work was the responsibility of the Railway Reconstruction Bureau (RRB). The stair railings were broken, and the contractors had yet to complete the work, so just placed the barriers with the simplified characters at the site. It was a misunderstanding, and he would take it up with the RRB and ask them to remove the barriers as soon as possible.
Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者陳彥廷
Internet users shared the photo online and created an Internet buzz. One person asked, “How can simplified characters appear in a state-run company?,” while another was concerned that the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) was going to be sold soon. Another Internet user joked that maybe the reason TRA trains were often late was because the clocks in the stations were all made in China, and another interjected, “perhaps it’s because Chinese tourists cannot understand traditional Chinese characters.”
(Liberty Times, Translated by Paul Cooper)
屏東縣潮州火車站移動式護欄上,九月二十八日被人發現寫著斗大「維護中,注意安全」的簡體字,並大剌剌放在火車站出入大廳,民眾痛批「現在搭的是台鐵還是中國鐵路?」
潮州火車站內簡體字護欄至少十面,就放在出入車站的必經走道,毫不遮掩,通勤民眾氣憤指出,看到施工護欄上寫著「維護中,注意安全」簡體字,讓人傻眼,以為是在中國搭火車,站方人員難道都沒注意到嗎?實在太離譜。
潮州站長陳俊興澄清,該站工程屬鐵路改建工程局負責,因階梯旁扶手損壞,包商施作尚未完成,隨意放上印有簡體字的護欄,引發民眾誤解,將向鐵工局反映,請儘速移除。
網友將照片分享引起熱議,有人說「簡體字怎麼能在國營單位出現」,有人擔心「台鐵快要被賣掉了」,還有網友譏諷「台鐵列車常誤點,說不定站內時鐘都是中國製的」;也有網友插話「可能是怕中國觀光客看不懂繁體字吧」。
(自由時報記者陳彥廷)
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