The Taipei City Government yesterday unveiled its mobile payment platform called pay.taipei.
The city’s Department of Information Technology has established the platform that can be used to pay utility bills and parking fees. Medical bills can also be paid through the service at Taipei City Hospital’s eight branches.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday morning, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that Apple founder Steve Jobs might not have been aware how much the firm’s iPhones would affect everyday life.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Pay.taipei integrates the city government’s various payment systems, Ko said, adding that the departments previously had to negotiate with different payment companies to manage the collection of parking, utility and medical fees.
“With the establishment of the new payment system, previous limitations on when and where bills could be paid will be overcome,” he said, adding that people will be able to make payments even at midnight.
Ko said electronic commerce and distribution is an economic trend that will change Taiwan and the world, adding that he hopes the nation can develop its e-commerce services as fast as China.
He will discuss e-commerce development when he attends the twin-city forum between Taipei and Shanghai next month, Ko said.
Services such as Uber, Airbnb and oBike should be managed, but not prohibited, because they are part of a global economic trend that cannot be stopped, Ko added.
The city government will foster the development of such platforms, he said.
“No matter the pace, the central government is moving forward; we [the city government] will not be dragged down,” he said, adding that there are many regulations that hinder development, but the city government will make efforts to develop e-commerce.
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS