The head of Taipei's subway system yesterday offered his apologies for his mishandling of a New Year's Eve accident that injured five people, according to the Central News Agency.
"Since 2000, we've seen 200 escalator-related accidents. We will rethink the current policy of allowing passengers in a hurry to walk on the left hand side of the escalator," Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation President Tsay Huei-sheng (
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Five passengers were hurt on the escalators leading to platforms amid the crowds that packed onto trains headed to celebrations held around Taipei City Hall on New Year's Eve. Two people were seriously injured and the other three sustained minor abrasions. One female passenger's hair was caught in the escalator, causing her hair to be torn out and her scalp to be ripped in the process.
According to the corporation's safety regulations, escalators must be turned off if subway platforms become too crowded to prevent accidents. A surveillance tape from the evening of the accident indicates that transit employees failed to shut down the escalators as required.
Tsay said he would accept whatever decision a city investigation handed down, and that he planned to convene a meeting with the injured parties and the to discuss appropriate compensation. He also said that the erroneous reports the transit employees had given on the accident would be investigated. Despite testimonies given by the injured passengers indicating otherwise, transit employees had said that the platform was not crowded and that the injuries sustained had been minor. The woman whose scalp was torn by the escalator received over 100 stitches, but employees reported it to be about 10.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS