Minister Without Portfolio Shih Che (史哲) is to be the new chairman of Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC), while acting THSRC chairman James Jeng (鄭光遠) would become the new chairman of Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC), a source in the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
Jeng was acting chairman of high-speed rail firm after former THSRC chairman Chiang Yao-chung (江耀宗) stepped down in January.
Having a doctorate in transportation from National Yang Ming-Chiao Tung University, Jeng held management positions at Evergreen Group before joining THSRC in March 2014. Before serving as the acting chairman, Jeng was the company’s chief executive officer and president.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Taiwan Railway Union said in a statement that Jeng’s first task as TRC chairman should be to improve employee salaries and benefits, which have not changed for years.
Unlike THSRC employees, many TRC employees work overnight and do shift work, the union said.
“We also have a more dangerous work environment. As such, we urge the new chairman to consider raising subsidies for nighttime and dangerous work,” it said.
Another challenge Jeng faces is TRC’s comparatively limited flexibility relative to THSRC, the union said.
The state-run company is fully owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and it would take time for the new chairman and others in managerial positions to get in sync, the union said.
Other TRC employees said the personnel decision showed that the administration despises the railway firm.
Jeng has never worked at TRC and is not familiar with how the railway system operates, they said.
The firm began reporting financial losses in 2021, with the loss last year — first year of corporatization — topping NT$13.79 billion (US$460.36 million), they added.
TRC desperately needs someone who knows how to market the firm, but Jeng has no expertise in tourism and marketing, or in investment and construction to bring from THSRC, they said.
The THSRC Corporate Union said it hopes the new chairman would listen to employees and maintain communication with the union.
It would petition for an increase in high-speed rail ticket prices in view of rising operating costs, as well as and recruiting more personnel, and protecting staff against physical and verbal violence from unruly passengers.
“Some senior employees might have trouble handling frontline duties due to physical limitations. We hope that the company helps them transfer to office positions,” it said.
Prior to his position at the Executive Yuan, Shih was minister of culture and Kaohsiung deputy mayor, among other administrative positions.
He has no experience running a railway.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS