Kaohsiung City launches ‘1999’ telephone service

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu answers the first call to the “1999” line. PHOTO: CNA

The Kaohsiung City Government launched a 24-hour telephone line yesterday to provide comprehensive services and information to city residents.

In a ceremony marking the launch of the “1999” hotline, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), accompanied by Chunghwa Telecom chairman Hochen Tan (賀陳旦), received the first call to the new service line.

The hotline will be manned by 18 operators working in three shifts to provide 24-hour service.

Ten physically challenged individuals will serve as operators on the day shift.

Chen said the move is in line with her policy of taking care of disadvantaged groups in the city, as well as an extension of a similar policy she implemented during her term as head of the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) between 2000 and 2005.

The mayor said that physically and mentally challenged individuals were employed as operators to man the CLA’s customer service lines when she served as head of the council.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Hochen said that a survey of the telephone company’s 3,000-plus operators revealed that disabled operators displayed several characteristics, including patience, consideration and attentiveness, that made them better suited than others for this line of work.

The city government will also keep a record of complaints and requests that are made via the hotline as well as the responses made by the various government ministries and agencies.