A new message broadcast on the Taipei MRT’s Wenhu (Brown) Line urging passengers to yield their seats to those in need, not necessarily elderly people, would be extended to other MRT lines and public transportation in the capital, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday.
Chiang was responding to reporters’ questions on the sidelines of a news conference at Taipei City Hall promoting healthy walking.
Several disputes over priority seats on public transportation have recently been reported, sparking debate about who qualifies to sit in them, as most of the cases involved elderly people asking young people to give up their seats.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Recently, a new message has been broadcast on the Wenhu Line.
“Hello, age is the not the only standard for sitting in the priority seats. Please show empathy, love and care,” it says.
Taipei Rapid Transit Corp is using the message to promote the idea that priority seats are for those with genuine need, and that “you may not be able to see it, but they need it,” Chiang said.
Asked if the message would be broadcast on other MRT lines or public transportation, he said it would be.
During the news conference, the Taipei Department of Health said that with convenient transport and food deliveries, many people lead a sedentary life.
It said it conducted a survey, which found that 40 percent of the city’s residents exercise regularly.
To encourage Taipei’s residents to be more active, the department announced the launch of a four-month healthy walking campaign that runs through Oct. 25.
People can join the campaign by downloading a hiking app, and score points by answering health questions, completing quests such as walking 400m per day for at least three days per week and finding digital treasures at designated spots along hiking trails, it said.
The accumulated points can be used to enter a lottery for prizes, including a smart phone, smart watch, coffee maker, video game console, fitness wearables and wireless earbuds.
Details can be found on the walkintaipei.com.tw Web site.
The WHO says tobacco use, inactivity, an unhealthy diet and the harmful use of alcohol are four common, but preventable risk factors that lead to most noncommunicable diseases, the department said, adding that walking is a simple and cost-effective way of being active.
Department Commissioner Chen Yen-yuan (陳彥元) encouraged people to incorporate walking into their daily routines, starting with just 10 minutes.
A person who walks until they are sweating slightly and breathing more heavily is doing enough to be fitter, prevent chronic illness and reduce stress, Chen said.
Commuters can add a brisk walk to and from work into their routine, or go hiking with friends or family over the weekends as an easy way to become more active, he said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS