A pregnant woman’s recent complaint about being asked to vacate a seat she had not bought on an express train earned no support from netizens, who said that even though yielding seats to elderly people and pregnant women is a virtue, the act should not be treated as a right by those groups.
In a post on Sunday on the Professional Technology Temple (PTT) — the nation’s largest academic online bulletin board — the woman said she took a reserved seat after boarding a Tzuchiang-class express train from Taoyuan to Hsinchu, despite not having purchased a reserved ticket.
The woman left the seat after another passenger boarded and showed her the assigned ticket for the seat.
The pregnant woman then took a picture of the passenger and posted it — and her complaint — online in an apparent bid for understanding or sympathy.
However, many netizens criticized the woman for using her pregnancy as validation for her actions, adding that she should not expect to “have her way” all the time simply because she is pregnant.
One netizen said that, as a mother, she always buys a reservation to ensure that she has a seat on the train, adding that she prefers not to take the train if she does not have a seat.
The pregnant woman later posted an apology after seeing that her complaint was met with general disapproval.
The rail company is always willing to help find a seat or provide emergency services for the elderly and pregnant women, Taiwan Railways Administration official Tu Wei (杜微) said.
However, he added that seating on express trains is reserved via tickets.
“We hope that passengers will respect that people who bought reserved tickets have the right to sit,” he said.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS