The English translation of the new name of Taipei County after it is upgraded in December has sparked controversy, with some residents protesting against the county government’s decision to adopt Hanyu Pinyin and romanizing it as “Xinbei City” (新北市).
Taipei County’s Department of Civil Affairs Commissioner Yang Yi-te (楊義德) said the county government used “Xinbei City” as the city’s official English name because “New Taipei City” would be too similar to “Taipei City.”
‘NEW TAIPEI CITY’
PHOTO: HE YU-HUA, TAIPEI TIMES
The city’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mayoral candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫), however, suggested the city be named “New Taipei City.”
“I prefer the name ‘New Taipei City’ because it is more reflective of the spirit of a new city after its upgrading and meets public expectations,” he said when approached for comments.
Speaking at a campaign stop in Taipei County, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also expressed her support for the name “New Taipei City.”
Tsai, who doubles as DPP chairperson, said that an English translation was for foreign visitors to better understand the name of the city, a task that would be better accomplished by calling it “New Taipei City.”
“If I were a foreigner, I wouldn’t understand what Xinbei City meant,” Tsai said.
“But if it was New Taipei City — the meaning would be very clear, a new area currently under development,” she said.
NO TO ‘XINBEI’
A small group of protesters yesterday challenged the county government’s adoption of Hanyu Pinyin in front of the Taipei County Hall, shouting “we don’t want Xinbei City” in protest against the decision.
“As a resident, I protest against Chou Hsi-wei’s (周錫瑋) decision to change my hometown’s name without seeking the residents’ agreement. We do not want to use Hanyu Pinyin, which China uses,” said Chang Shu-feng (張淑芬), director of Taiwan Pinyin League.
Chang said the county government should either use “Sinbei City” — based on the Tongyong Pinyin system developed by Taiwan — or “New Taipei City” as the city’s English name.
Yang dismissed accusations that the county government chose the Hanyu Pinyin system to pander to China, saying Hanyu Pinyin has been officially adopted by the central government.
Yang said the English name of the upgraded city still requires final approval from the Taipei County Council. The final version will be determined in September.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS