A graduate student at National Taiwan University (NTU) surnamed Chao (趙) brought charges of property damage against the university’s bicycle towing division, which said it was only following school regulations.
Chao’s bicycle was locked to a post, but the lock was forcibly cut by division head Lin Chien-fu (林建福) and staff workers in accordance with university rules, which say that bicycles not parked in accordance with school regulations will be moved to an appropriate place, and if necessary their locks cut open.
The rules also stipulate that starting from the fourth violation, a fee of NT$50 would be charged for removal of the bike, Lin said, adding that this was the first time the division was sued in the many years that the rule has been in force.
Lin said that as students’ bikes have their own ID numbers, statistics showed that, including the most recent incident, Chao’s bike had recorded 19 violations since October last year.
The incident caused a stir on the PTT bulletin board Web site, where many students have left posts in support of Lin and NTU staff, with a student surnamed Liu (劉) even saying that she remembered the university told students beforehand that illegally parked bikes on campus would have their locks cut open and removed to an appropriate location.
Everybody knew this and Chao had no reason to bring charges or demand compensation as the problem was his alone, Liu said
Lin said that on Dec. 11 he went on his rounds with three other staff members of the division and found Chao’s bike illegally parked and locked against a post.
Chao, unhappy that his lock was cut open, had asked Lin to repay him NT$300, but then Chao brought the case to the police, who notified the school on Tuesday.
“I went to the police department with the other people on duty when the incident happened to explain the matter,” Lin said, adding that the case was sent to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for investigation.
“I’ve never been arrested before and was only doing my job,” Lin said.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it