The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is in the process of negotiating with Japan-based Sanrio Corp to use Hello Kitty on its Taroko Express trains in a bid to gain publicity and increase patronage, sources said.
The railway operator has tried before to get approval to use the iconic brand after EVA Airways Corp won permission in 2005 to put images of the feline character on its planes’ hulls, interiors and accessories, sources said.
EVA said that since it received the rights to use the Hello Kitty images, 85 percent of its flights on planes bearing the brand have been full.
Photo: Liu Li-jen, Taipei Times
With the TRA to receive two sets of both Puyuma Express and Taroko Express trains from Japanese manufacturers by the end of this year — an addition to a larger order — the operator said it is in talks with Sanrio to decorate one of the Taroko Express trains in Hello Kitty livery, the sources said.
The TRA has asked EVA Air to help consult with Sanrio due to the airline’s success in negotiating use of the character, the sources said, adding that it had met with Sanrio at least three times.
The TRA has provided the interior schematics to the layout of the Taroko Express to Sanrio, which suggested using Hello Kitty imagery on seats, as well as logos in the trains and on LED displays, they said.
Sanrio also suggested redesigning trolleys used in the train and selling a Hello Kitty version of TRA lunchboxes, they said.
However, the TRA said it wants to incorporate some Taiwanese themes into the carriages, such as pictures of the National Palace Museum and Alishan (阿里山), adding that it is still in negotiations with Sanrio over the design concepts on accessories.
According to TRA officials, the agency concluded negotiations for 17 sets of Puyuma Express trains at a time when the yen was depreciating, which led to surplus funds that were used to purchase the four sets of trains to arrive this year.
This is an opportunity for the agency to improve its image, the officials said, adding that the railway operator hopes to announce draft plans for the venture in the middle of this month.
The potential success of the TRA’s venture comes after Taiwan High Speed Rail Co had also been in talks with Sanrio regarding an agreement to use Hello Kitty, but the financially challenged company eventually dropped the idea because of the cost of royalty fees.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS