Taoyuan City Councilor Liu Mao-chun (劉茂群) on Friday claimed to speak for local parents at a municipal session, saying they were concerned about the rising number of toy claw crane machines around schools, where children were “spending their breakfast money.”
Liu, a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), said she received complaints from parents in her electoral district of Bade (八德).
Claw machine stores had appeared near the Da Cheng, Juifong and Guangsing elementary schools, as well as Yongfong Junior High School, causing children to spend their breakfast money and go to school hungry, Liu said.
Photo: Hsieh Wu-hsiung, Taipei Times
A resident in her constituency had told her that his wife had spent NT$6,000, half the family’s monthly allotment for food purchases, on the machines within a few days, Liu said.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) promised to investigate tax records and commercial license registrations for all claw machine stores near the schools.
Just like vending machine operators, owners of claw machines only need to apply for commercial registration, Cheng said.
Claw machines are defined as “selective vending machines,” as they must guarantee a certain success ratio, Taoyuan Economic Development Bureau Director Chu Sung-wei (朱松偉) said, citing the Statute Regulating Arcades and Gaming Facilities (電子遊戲場管理條例).
The machines’ categorization affords them the same treatment as common vending machines, which only require license registration, Chu said.
The sudden increase in claw machines nationwide has also been a source of discussion online, including on the popular Professional Technology Temple (PTT) electronic bulletin board.
Some netizens speculated that the sudden flood of claw machine stores was because the stores could not be rented out for other purposes.
They speculated that property owners might be frustrated by interest in their buildings and accept offers from claw machine companies, whose business does not require constant staff supervision.
Others said that the appearance of claw machines — which offer simple entertainment at a very low price — is indicative of an economy in recession and should be considered a warning sign.
While people think it is a business trend, it is only a fad hiding the more worrying problem that store locations cannot be rented out, commentators on PTT said.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
RSS