As the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) continues to struggle with years of accumulated losses, the Control Yuan has proposed making up part of the difference by canceling discounts for foreigners who are disabled, elderly or aged under 12.
Chien Lin Hui-chun (錢林慧君), a member of the government’s highest supervisory body, questioned the wisdom of extending the discounts enjoyed by Taiwanese to foreigners on the 345km railway, the beneficiary of government investments and subsidies.
She said that concession tickets sold to foreigners since 2009 have cost the THSRC NT$199 million (US$6.59 million).
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp
The operator of the railway, which opened in 2007, had accumulated NT$53.5 billion in losses as of January, despite having started to turn a profit in 2011.
The THSRC offers the same discounts to foreigners as it does to Taiwanese: half-price tickets for the mentally or physically disabled, senior citizens and children under 12.
Chien Lin’s report called for the policy to be reconsidered, saying it takes advantage of subsidies from Taiwanese taxpayers, though the report did not make any suggestions for policies on foreign nationals who legally reside, work and pay taxes in Taiwan.
The Control Yuan member also cited canceling the discounts out of the “spirit of equality and reciprocity,” saying that mass transit systems in other countries, such as Japan, Hong Kong and the UK, “do not have preferential treatment for our nationals.”
According to her report, the THSRC has previously defended its policy as a way to boost the nation’s reputation for friendliness and attract more foreign visitors.
Chien Lin’s report said in a separate section that legally mandated concession tickets on regular trains — for Taiwanese and foreigners alike — have caused the Taiwan Railways Administration losses of about NT$4.09 billion.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has not subsidized the rail authority’s burden as it is required to, Chien Lin said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to