Dispersing the homeless people who gather at the Taipei Railway Station will not help solve the problem as they will only return, a Taipei City Government official said yesterday.
Shih Yi-ling (師豫玲), head of the city government's Department of Social Welfare, said that homeless people hanging around the railway station and other transportation hubs is a common phenomenon around the world.
The authorities have a duty to maintain order by taking action, she said, saying that her department will respect the decisions its superiors will make in carrying out their duties. However, she said that she was opposed to forceful dispersal or the imposition of a loitering ban as such measures would "create human rights disputes."
She made the remarks one day after the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) decided to take action against the homeless at the Taipei Railway Station to protect the station's clean and orderly image.
TRA officials noted that the basement parking lots at the Taipei Railway Station are occupied by homeless people all year round, with some of the homeless also using the restrooms in the station to do their laundry or bathe, which they said has frightened some passengers.
They said there have also been incidents of fire breaking out in the winter time when the homeless build fires and huddle around them to keep warm.
TRA officials said on Friday that station officials would disperse the homeless at 7am and 5pm daily and after the last train departs at 12:20am each night there would be another clearing operation.
Shih said the department has coordinated with the TRA concerning the homeless problem and has made its stance clear.
"Dispersing the homeless is only a temporary solution as they are bound to return as experiences in other countries has shown," she said.
She denied the department has not been active in seeking a solution, saying that it has sought cooperation with the TRA and has offered job opportunities or provisional housing rent subsidies to the homeless.
She said that Taipei Railway Station is usually the place where people from central and southern Taiwan looking for job opportunities in Taipei City first arrive, adding that many of those who cannot find jobs immediately seek temporary shelter at the station. She further said that with government assistance, this group of homeless would be easier to handle.
However, she admitted that some homeless do not want the government to interfere in their lives and they have no intention of working or staying in accommodation provided by the government, saying this group of the homeless is the most difficult to deal with.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS