The Taipei Metro would not enforce its advisory against using power banks, it said on Saturday evening after its announcement of the new regulation on Friday sparked public and political backlash.
The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) on Friday issued an advisory urging people not to use power banks in the MRT system, citing incidents in which power banks spontaneously caught fire, endangering passengers.
The policy immediately sparked public backlash, with critics accusing authorities of overreacting, and city councilors across party lines voicing doubts and opposition.
Photo courtesy of the TRTC
TRTC convened an emergency news conference on Saturday, stating that there is currently no legal basis to prohibit their use and that it would not explicitly stop passengers from using power banks.
The advisory was intended to raise public awareness of the risks of using power banks, TRTC said, apologizing for any misunderstanding.
Stations across all lines have already set up metal buckets, tongs, heat-resistant gloves and water to help staff respond to emergency situations, it said.
If a power bank ignites or smokes, it would be handled in accordance with the fire department’s recommendations, it added.
The sudden regulation is an overreaction by the Taipei City Government, Social Democratic Party (SDP) Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) said on Facebook, calling Taipei a “ban-first city.”
The Taipei MRT needs to clearly define what kinds of power banks are prohibited, otherwise people could be confused about unclear rules, leading to conflicts, Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said.
Without clear rules or enforcement, the advisory would not actually help safety, Lin said.
There have only been five cases of power banks spontaneously igniting over the last three years, an extremely low incidence rate, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chan Wei-yuan (詹為元) said.
Many countries focus on isolation and control, or banning specific types of power banks, rather than across-the-board restrictions, Chan said.
The sudden restrictions left metro staff unclear about enforcement, inspections and authority, reflecting a pattern of rushed policies without supporting measures by the Taipei City Government, Taiwan People’s Party Taipei City Councilor Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞) said.
While Chen said he supports stronger management, he said that a blanket ban was an overreaction.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS