The ubiquity and range of services provided by convenience stores in Taiwan is often praised by foreign visitors.
However, an assault against a convenience store clerk in Pingtung County in September, during which the assailant allegedly attempted to gouge out the clerk’s eyes, and a fatal stabbing of another clerk at a 7-Eleven in Taoyuan last month, have shocked the public — and are not isolated incidents.
The government must step in to prevent such cases, as well as frequent nighttime armed robberies and drunken daytime incidents at convenience stores, from occurring.
A large mirror could be installed behind the cash register, in part or fully replacing the cigarette display area, so that a potential assailant sees their own reflection, which would raise their self-awareness and trigger a warning response.
Closed-circuit television cameras are insufficient. Convenience store clerks could be equipped with pepper spray and other low-level defensive tools, which could perhaps be voice activated or triggered by a sensor to automatically target threatening individuals. This would give clerks time to defend themselves.
The operators of franchise convenience stores should provide extra training to employees who have contact with customers and teach them how to better deal with emergencies, including how to defuse a situation by staying calm and avoiding words that might provoke an attack.
The training should also teach clerks to remain alert for violent behavior, including risk management and distinguishing between threatening and nonthreatening people, as is part of management science.
Convenience store clerks tend to be young; consequently their turnover rate is rather high. Nevertheless, the enhanced training would benefit their personal development and build a solid foundation for their careers.
At least one convenience store franchise has thus far announced that clerks would no longer issue compulsory reminders to customers to wear a mask after entering the store.
However, this alone will not solve the problem, as incidents relating to mask wearing are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to violent acts.
Violence against convenience store clerks, who are assisting the government in implementing a public health policy, is unacceptable and brings shame on the nation.
Fang Fu-chuan is an international trader.
Translated by Edward Jones
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
A delegation of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials led by Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is to travel to China tomorrow for a six-day visit to Jiangsu, Shanghai and Beijing, which might end with a meeting between Cheng and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). The trip was announced by Xinhua news agency on Monday last week, which cited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Song Tao (宋濤) as saying that Cheng has repeatedly expressed willingness to visit China, and that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and Xi have extended an invitation. Although some people have been speculating about a potential Xi-Cheng
The ongoing Iran conflict is putting Taiwan’s energy fragility on full display — the island of 23 million people, home to the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing, is highly dependent on imported oil and gas, especially that from the Middle East. In 2025, 69.6 percent of Taiwan’s crude oil and 38.7 percent of liquified natural gas were sourced from the Middle East. In the same year, 62 percent of crude oil and 34 percent of LNG to Taiwan went through the Strait of Hormuz. Taiwan’s state-run oil company CPC Corp’s benchmark crude oil price (70 percent Dubai, 30 percent Brent)
RSS