The Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) stuffed toy Hanna (漢娜將), dressed in a uniform worn by train attendants in 1978, is to be available for purchase in celebration of the railway operator’s 131st anniversary.
Train attendants are responsible for serving express train passengers and have summer and winter uniforms, the agency said, adding that the designs and colors of their uniforms have changed dramatically over the years, depending on the fashions of the time.
The criteria used to select train attendants are strict, and aside from their appearance, candidates are evaluated based on their demeanor and whether they are able to carry heavy things in shaky train cabins while wearing high heels, the agency said.
Photo: Cheng Wei-chi, Taipei Times
Hanna would be dressed in the uniform worn by train attendants in the summer of 1978, said Chen Shi-xiung (陳世雄), the supply section chief of the agency’s catering service department.
Hanna’s detachable dress was designed after careful study of the agency’s 1978 summer uniform, including its badge, blouse, the insignia on the cap and buttons, Chen said.
The agency has changed its uniforms more than 10 times since 1978, he said, adding that it has already planned more old uniforms for Hanna to wear.
If Hanna proves to be popular, the agency would consider producing handbags and other accessories for the stuffed toy as well, Chen said.
Hanna would be available for purchase between Friday and Monday next week, Chen said, adding that only 120 would be sold on Friday.
In addition to the stuffed toy, the agency has also introduced a series of products and new services to celebrate its 131st anniversary.
Yesterday, it started selling two new lunchboxes targeting older passengers, who generally prefer healthy, less oily food. One of the meals features pumpkins and pine nuts, while the other contains teriyaki diced chicken, the agency said.
It would also incorporate a Pepper robot into its on-site service crew at Taipei Railway Station tomorrow, the agency said, adding that the multilingual robot could serve passengers from different countries.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods