The companies that run the Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung MRT systems might file a joint civil claim against people who graffitied their trains this week, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC, 臺北大眾捷運) said yesterday.
Surveillance camera footage showed that at 2:54am on Thursday, two people climbed over a fence into the parking area of its Beitou Depot and spray-painted the first and second cabins of the first train, the Taipei company said.
The pair finished the graffiti and fled the area at about 3:29am, it added.
Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp
The graffiti, which was about 15m wide and 1.5m tall, was removed later that day, it said.
The perpetrators could face fines of up to NT$1 million (US$31,397), as well as civil claims for damages, TRTC said.
To prevent others from vandalizing and trespassing, it reported the case to the police and filed a civil claim, it said.
Photo copied by Liu Ching-ho
As MRT trains in Taichung and Kaohsiung were also graffitied on Thursday and Friday, TRTC might collaborate with the Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp (臺中捷運) and Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (高雄捷運) in filing civil claims against vandals, it added.
The Taichung company said that two people trespassed on the tracks near a terminus at the Taichung High Speed Rail Station at about 9pm on Thursday.
The pair spent about 15 minutes graffitiing a spare train car, it said.
Photo courtesy of Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp
They also damaged a fence and trespassed on rail tracks, and could face fines of up to NT$1 million, it said.
The company reported the matter to the police.
Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp said it discovered that two trains had been graffitied on Friday at 4am — one at the Daliao Depot and the other at North Depot — but no mechanical damage was found.
As the offenders could have damaged the control station or other equipment, which could hinder the operations and safety of the MRT system, the company said it would also file civil claims against them.
Graffiti artists enjoy the excitement of their work being seen and showing it off to their peers, but their work is not aesthetically pleasing and ruins the appearance of the trains, it said.
The vandals also risk injury trespassing through the depot, it added.
Earlier this month, Taiwan Railways Administration trains were graffitied. The administration at the time said it would seek restitution from the culprits, who could face a fine of up to NT$10 million and seven years in prison for jeopardizing the normal operations of an important railway station, field, facility or equipment by stealing, destroying or other illegal means.
Additional reporting by Huang Hsu-le and CNA
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS