Amid continuing controversy, three of the four major convenience store chains in the nation have announced they would not carry controversial special-edition EasyCards featuring Japanese adult video actress Yui Hatano.
President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), which operates 7-Eleven convenience stores, Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店) and OK Mart Co (來來超商) said they would not be selling the cards featuring Hatano, because they have reservations about the cards, citing “mixed reviews” from the public.
Meanwhile, Hi-Life International Co (萊爾富國際) said it would decide tomorrow whether to offer the cards.
Photo: Wang Wen-lin, Taipei Times
Despite the controversy, Taipei EasyCard Corp’s plans to market the cards are to go ahead, with the firm saying that all revenue generated from card sales would go to charity, with three social welfare foundations expressing a willingness to accept the donations.
The three foundations are the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families; Jing Chuan Child Safety Foundation; and Sunable, a foundation promoting barrier-free access for the physically challenged, the company said.
EasyCard spokeswoman Lin Shiau-chi (林筱琪) said the company is working to increase distribution channels for the cards and that it is exploring the possibility of selling them at pharmacies.
Lin said that selling the cards at convenience stores would have helped boost customer numbers.
Meanwhile, Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) on Friday rejected Lin’s claims that she had requested the cards from the company.
Presenting an official document she filed with the company on Wednesday, Chien said she only inquired about who authorized the use of Hatano’s pictures and how much the royalty was.
Chien also asked the marketing firm that designed the cards how the idea came about, the document showed.
Chien said Lin presented her with six cards on Friday morning, just one hour after Chien had held a news conference with women’s rights activist group Taiwan Women’s Link criticizing the cards and urging EasyCard chairman Tai Chi-chuan (戴季全) to cancel sales of the cards.
Chien said that Lin’s claims that she had requested the cards were baseless and the company’s move was apparently an attempt to solicit city councilors endorsement of the disputed cards, adding that the move made her “uncomfortable.”
Chien said she would take legal action against Lin if she continues to spread false information.
In response, Lin said that one of Chien’s staff members had called her to ask for the cards, urging Chien to check correspondence records from her office.
Meanwhile, asked whether plans to market the cards should be canceled, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said the company plans to issue a series of special-edition EasyCards, which will include the ones featuring Hatano.
“I hope they issue other cards soon so that this incident will blow over,” he said.
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