Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he would send a request to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to help solve the issue of EasyCards not being accepted on the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT) light rail line.
The line begin charging fares on Wednesday last week, but EasyCards, which are widely accepted on Taipei public transportation, are not a payment option.
Former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) had insisted on market equality for Kaohsiung’s iPass and Taipei’s EasyCards, but even though iPass cards can be used in Taipei, EasyCards are still not accepted on the KMRT light rail, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chin Huei-chu (秦慧珠) said.
“I will call the ministry immediately and ask them to deal with the case quickly. If not, we will take the case to the Fair Trade Commission,” Ko said.
Meanwhile, KMT Taipei City Councilor William Hsu (徐弘庭) said that EasyCard Corp had donated NT$100,000 (US$3,311) to the New Culture Foundation last year and this year.
As the foundation was founded by Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and has often invited Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians to make speeches, Hsu questioned whether it is appropriate for the semi-governmental company to donate to an organization associated with politics.
He also said that Friends of the 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade, of which Hsieh is chairman, had also donated NT$300,000 to Ko for his 520km “twin tower” bicycle trip last year.
“Of course sponsoring a political party’s event is not allowed,” Ko said, adding that he did not know anything about it as his only job was to ride a bicycle, but promised that the city government would investigate.
In other news, Ko yesterday said that he might have failed at getting along with other people and should learn to speak less in response to a city councilor’s inquiry about his criticism of local governments’ debt problems.
Ko last week said that Kaohsiung is more than NT$260 billion in debt and that many local governments are becoming “Miaoli-ized,” meaning that they are likely to face near-bankruptcy as the Miaoli County Government did a few years ago.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) had expressed their dissatisfaction with Ko’s remark, while a few Taipei city councilors also criticized Ko for discussing other governments’ business.
Chin asked whether Ko feels attacked from all sides, as he is not even supported by councilors in the pan-green camp.
Ko said there will always be opposing opinions and all he can do is respond to them, adding that he might have “failed to get along with other people,” so he should speak less in the future.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS