As the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) continues to struggle with years of accumulated losses, the Control Yuan has proposed making up part of the difference by canceling discounts for foreigners who are disabled, elderly or aged under 12.
Chien Lin Hui-chun (錢林慧君), a member of the government’s highest supervisory body, questioned the wisdom of extending the discounts enjoyed by Taiwanese to foreigners on the 345km railway, the beneficiary of government investments and subsidies.
She said that concession tickets sold to foreigners since 2009 have cost the THSRC NT$199 million (US$6.59 million).
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp
The operator of the railway, which opened in 2007, had accumulated NT$53.5 billion in losses as of January, despite having started to turn a profit in 2011.
The THSRC offers the same discounts to foreigners as it does to Taiwanese: half-price tickets for the mentally or physically disabled, senior citizens and children under 12.
Chien Lin’s report called for the policy to be reconsidered, saying it takes advantage of subsidies from Taiwanese taxpayers, though the report did not make any suggestions for policies on foreign nationals who legally reside, work and pay taxes in Taiwan.
The Control Yuan member also cited canceling the discounts out of the “spirit of equality and reciprocity,” saying that mass transit systems in other countries, such as Japan, Hong Kong and the UK, “do not have preferential treatment for our nationals.”
According to her report, the THSRC has previously defended its policy as a way to boost the nation’s reputation for friendliness and attract more foreign visitors.
Chien Lin’s report said in a separate section that legally mandated concession tickets on regular trains — for Taiwanese and foreigners alike — have caused the Taiwan Railways Administration losses of about NT$4.09 billion.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has not subsidized the rail authority’s burden as it is required to, Chien Lin said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS