The Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) has invited a Japanese rice ball vendor and his Taiwanese wife based in the city to open a stall in one of the city’s stations after a video of their landlord smashing items outside their store earned them widespread sympathy.
KRTC said it contacted the couple and offered to take them to Zuoying, Kaohsiung Main and Formosa Boulevard stations yesterday to evaluate potential sites for a stall, in what the company described as a gesture of “friendship and support between Taiwan and Japan.”
Meanwhile, Chang Yen-ching (張硯卿), head of the Kaohsiung City Department of Administrative and International Affairs, said the city is also offering the couple a spot in the cafeteria of its administrative center.
Photo: Wang Rong-hsiang, Taipei Times
The Japanese-style rice ball shop in Gushan District (鼓山), operated by a 60-year-old Japanese man surnamed Higuchi and his Taiwanese wife, received support from the public after their landlord was caught on camera knocking over and smashing items in front of the store on Friday.
Higuchi’s wife, surnamed Chang (張), on Sunday told reporters that her husband was moved to tears by the community’s response to the incident, with crowds lining up to purchase rice balls and messages of encouragement flooding in on social media.
Chang said they are still searching for a new business location and are handling court proceedings related to the dispute, which she said had caused them emotional stress and disrupted their business.
The altercation involved the 62-year-old tenant Chang and the 59-year-old landlord, surnamed Shao (邵), who accused the shopkeeper of placing items in unauthorized areas and filed a theft-related complaint, the Kaohsiung Police Department said.
The police said the couple later filed a countersuit for property damage and said that a minor injury occurred when the landlord kicked a chair that struck Higuchi.
“Shao is suspected of having been emotionally agitated, pushing over tables, chairs, flowerpots and other items,” the police said.
On Monday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) visited the store, later writing on Facebook that the shop represented the “sincerity of Taiwan-Japan friendship.”
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS