Members of a taxi drivers’ union yesterday protested outside the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office before filing charges against Uber Taiwan general manager Gu Li-kai (顧立楷) for violations of the Company Act (公司法), as controversy continues over how to respond to the ride-hailing app.
“We are here today because the government has disappointed us with its lack of action, and we hope that the courts can provide us and consumers with appropriate guarantees,” Taipei City Professional Drivers’ Union president Cheng Li-chia (鄭力嘉) said.
“The Ministry of Transportation and Communications says they will not allow Uber to continue operating as long as it is illegal, but it has already been four years since the firm’s entrance — what the hell are they doing?” he said, while criticizing the ministry’s plans to loosen taxi regulations to allow for “diversification.”
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“They came up with these plans only after Uber’s entrance and have not paid much attention to our voice in discussions,” he said. “What they have repeatedly said is that they want to help us compete with Uber — but how are we supposed to compete with something that is illegal?”
Taxi drivers say that the firm’s operations violate the Highway Act (公路法), adding that tax avoidance and exemptions from insurance requirements give Uber drivers unfair advantages, leading to predatory pricing.
Cheng also condemned reports that the Executive Yuan was considering freezing a possible revocation of Uber’s investment permit by the Investment Commission as it considers legal amendments to facilitate legalization.
“If the license is not revoked before Friday next week, we will act immediately and take to the streets,” he said, adding that some drivers suggested blocking major arteries in protest.
“Our position is that Uber’s current mode of providing services is illegal. We will continue to investigate and fine the firm,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said, denying the ministry’s position had changed.
Investment Commission Executive Secretary Emile Chang (張銘斌) denied that a decision has been made on whether to revoke the firm’s investment permit, saying a decision would be made next week.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS