In an effort to protect passenger rights, the Taipei Smart Card Corporation (TSCC) yesterday announced it would deposit the more than NT$1.3 billion (US$40 million) it has collected in advance fees from EasyCards into a trust fund.
The multi-purpose EasyCard, used to pay transit fees on Taipei MRT lines and buses, is extremely popular, with 10 million cards in circulation as of last October following its launch on June 12, 2002.
The number of cards is expected to reach 15 million in the near future, the TSCC said.
PHOTO: CNA
Besides the advance fees collected from the EasyCards, the TSCC added about NT$100 million and deposited the money into a Cathay United Bank account.
TSCC general manager Jason Lin (林志盈) said the company added an extra 5 percent to highlight the company's efforts to protect its customers.
"I am very confident about the sale of smart cards, but I think putting the advance fees into the trust fund offers more protection for our customers," he told a press conference yesterday at Taipei City Hall.
Addressing the ceremony, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) approved of TSCC's move, and promised to oversee the fund and protect the rights of all cardholders.
"I applaud TSCC's innovative measure and its sincerity. It is not only 100 percent sincere about protecting customers, it is 105 percent," Hau said.
Besides MRT fees and buses, the cards can also be used to pay parking fees and for tickets to Taipei's Maokong gondola system.
The TSCC has already expanded the card's use to Taipei County, Keelung City and Taoyuan County and hopes to keep expanding the use of the card to other areas around the country.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry