Muslims now have a quiet place to pray inside Taipei Railway Station after the opening of the station’s first Muslim prayer room last week.
The provision of the religious facility is seen as a move to further reshape the Taiwan Railways Administration’s image among the foreign community.
In 2012, the railway operator drew criticism and protests from foreign workers for setting up a cordon at the station’s lobby to block the entry of foreign workers gathering in celebration of Eid al-Fitr — an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of fasting — as the move was seen as discriminating against foreign workers.
Last year, the administration attempted to change the public’s perception of how it treated foreigners by setting up a stage in the center of the station’s lobby and engaging the assistance of other private agencies to jointly cohost festive events for Eid al-Fitr.
Currently, there are about 50,000 Taiwanese Muslims and 230,000 Indonesian workers in the nation.
Aside from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Railway Station is the only transportation facility in the country that provides a prayer room.
According to the administration, the prayer room is on the basement floor of the station and covers an area of about 6.6m2. It is equipped with prayer mats and a sign pointing in the direction of Mecca.
As Muslims need to perform a minor ablution before prayer — they are required to clean their hands and lower extremities — the restroom near the prayer room has a Japanese-style washlet as well.
A similar facility is being considered for the Taoyuan Railway Station in the first half of this year.
The Chinese Muslim Association said the move showed that the railway operator has reflected on its previous deeds and improved on them.
Taipei Railway Station Master Chien Hsin-li (簡信立) said that many controversies that have occurred in the past were due to a lack of mutual understanding.
Chien said that the administration had consulted the association to make sure that the room’s specifications met international standards.
Chien said that Muslims requiring use of the facility can call the telephone number on the prayer room’s door upon arrival and station staff would come and unlock the door.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS