People would be allowed to temporarily take off their masks on Taipei’s MRT metropolitan railway system, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said yesterday.
People would be allowed to remove their masks for eating or drinking in areas where that is permitted, as long as they can keep a safe social distance from others, the MRT operator said.
In general, mask wearing would still be required inside stations and trains, and those who contravene the rule would be fined up to NT$15,000 and banned from the premises, it said, adding that the rule update is in line with policies by the Central Epidemic Command Center and the Taipei City Government.
Photo: CNA
Designated street dance areas in MRT stations and MRT malls would be divided into segments to help people maintain social distance, the operator said.
Users of the areas would only be allowed to take off their masks while dancing, it said, adding that they would be required to scan a contact tracing QR code before entering.
Water fountains and some facilities for charging mobile devices inside stations would be reopened, with a limit of one user per charging station to avoid crowding, it said.
The Taipei Children’s Amusement Park, which is run by the MRT firm, would operate at a capacity of 16,000 people, it said.
The firm has added a “crowd traffic light” system to the park’s Web site, which would flash “orange” when the facility has 9,600 visitors, or 60 percent of capacity, and “red” when the crowd size limit has been reached, it said.
Visitors would have to scan the contact tracing QR code before entering, it said, urging visitors to comply with body temperature measurement and social distancing requirements.
Visitors would only be allowed to take off their masks when eating, drinking or taking a picture, it added.
The Taipei Arena Ice Land and the Taipei Metro Beitou Resort have removed their crowd size limits, but the resort would continue to operate on a reservation-only basis, the MRT operator said.
Visitors to the two sites would have to wear masks, except for when exercising, it added.
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
COUNTERMEASURE: Taiwan was to implement controls for 47 tech products bound for South Africa after the latter downgraded and renamed Taipei’s ‘de facto’ offices The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still reviewing a new agreement proposed by the South African government last month to regulate the status of reciprocal representative offices, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. Asked about the latest developments in a year-long controversy over Taiwan’s de facto representative office in South Africa, Lin during a legislative session said that the ministry was consulting with legal experts on the proposed new agreement. While the new proposal offers Taiwan greater flexibility, the ministry does not find it acceptable, Lin said without elaborating. The ministry is still open to resuming retaliatory measures against South