The Taipei City Transportation Department is declaring war on bad English.
In an effort to create an "English-friendly" environment in Taipei, the department is inviting people to correct mistakes or poor use of English on the city's street signs and in official publications.
The English error-finding activity is the latest in a series of events designed to promote public participation in the city government's English program.
The department said that the activity was directed primarily at the English content of bilingual signs, including street signs and the various information plaques at the city's major attractions.
Residents are encouraged to find spelling mistakes, incorrect word choices, errors in word order, incorrect translations or grammatical blunders in the signs.
submission
Participants can submit their findings by filling out a form on the department's Web site and sending their findings by e-mail, fax or post to the department.
The form, dubbed "Identifying Errors in English of Traffic Engineering Office Publications," is available at the department's Web site (www.bote.taipei.gov.tw/activity/activity_plan_en.asp). The Web site contains detailed instructions in Chinese and English.
People who spot three or more English errors between now and June 30 will receive awards from the department, ranging from knapsacks to official Traffic Engineering Office hats.
winners
The winners will be announced on July 31 on the department's Web site.
In the event that two or more different entries are submitted for the same error, only the earliest submission to the department would be accepted, the department said.
Submissions about bilingual signs in public areas that are not under the department's jurisdiction and for notices of central governmental agencies and other civilian organizations would be forwarded to the institutions involved, it said.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends
RSS