Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) on Wednesday defended its new station master uniforms as based on those worn by Japan Railways (JR) staff, amid criticism that the design looks like the North Korean military uniform.
The newly corporatized TRC on Monday unveiled new formal uniforms for station masters at the Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Hualien railway stations.
However, the gray color ignited some controversy, with commentators saying it looks similar to those worn by the North Korean military.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Railway Corp
It is the first time the railway has used gray in a uniform, as blue is the standard choice for railways staff.
The TRC on Wednesday defended the design, saying it was based on those worn by staff on the JR East and other Japanese railways.
It is also markedly different from the Mao suit and cap worn by the North Korean military, it added.
The double-breasted suit jacket with gold buttons and trim is a usual design, while the embroidered golden tassel on the cap is honorary for the heads of the nation’s largest stations, it said.
The uniforms would only be used on Lunar New Year and other major celebrations, while the regular navy blue uniform would be worn at other times, TRC chairman Du Wei (杜微) said.
New uniforms for regular railway staff are still being designed, and would likely be released next year, he said, adding that they would likely not use gray to differentiate from the station master uniforms.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
RSS