The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) would be allowed to raise ticket prices in 2024 if its safety and punctuality record improves, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) told an online talk show yesterday.
Wang was invited by Yahoo TV host and political commentator Wang Shi-chi (王時齊) to talk abut the Statutes Governing the Establishment of the State-Run Taiwan Railway Co (國營台灣鐵路股份有限公司設置條例), which the legislature passed on May 27.
Wang Shi-chi asked if the ministry plans to adjust TRA fares, which have not changed for 26 years, despite its annual personnel expenditure exceeding NT$10 billion (US$338.75 million).
Photo: Screengrab from the Yahoo TV Web site
“It is not that we should not talk about raising ticket prices. It is a topic that we can talk about when the TRA delivers safe and punctual railway services,” the minister said. “If the railway agency shows significant improvements in safety and punctuality, I see no problem with adjusting ticket prices when the railway company is officially established in 2024.”
The TRA sustained an average loss of NT$5 billion per year over the past five years, he said.
“After the [past] two fatal train derailments, a structural change was considered to be key to comprehensive reform at the TRA,” Wang Kwo-tsai said. “Many people would find it difficult to accept if the agency were allowed to raise ticket prices at this time.”
TRA services are less punctual than those of the high-speed rail and MRT systems because it has 23 different types of trains in its fleet, he said.
“We have begun to streamline train types by replacing some of the old trains with newly purchased EMU900 commuter trains and EMU3000 intercity trains,” he said, adding that the measure is crucial in enhancing the TRA’s service quality.
The bill sailed through the Legislative Yuan last month as the public has reached a consensus on the issue, and it was supported by the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan and lawmakers across party lines, he said.
He was also asked when borders would be reopened to international travelers, as several Asian countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Japan and South Korea, have lifted or relaxed quarantine and testing requirements for travelers regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Tourism Bureau has stipulated disease prevention guidelines for inbound and outbound tourists, which must be submitted to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for final approval, he said.
Based on the proposed guidelines, all foreign arrivals would be required to have received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and to present a negative polymerase chain reaction test result, he said.
Package tour groups must come and leave the country as a group, he added.
“The CECC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are still discussing if the country should open borders to tour groups first, or if it should simultaneously open to group and independent travelers,” he said.
The CECC’s main concern is whether Taiwan has adequate healthcare capacity to cope with a potential surge in COVID-19 cases, as the local outbreak has plateaued, but remains high, and subvariants of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 are emerging in other countries, Wang Kwo-tsai said.
The Executive Yuan has agreed to the ministry’s plan to provide a NT$6 billion stimulus fund program to shore up the domestic travel industry from July 15 to Dec. 15, which is expected to benefit travel agencies, hotels and amusement park operators, he said.
“Tour operators can use the time before borders reopen as a warmup period for hosting international travelers,” he said. “We are also encouraging people to travel domestically while the borders are still closed. With the subsidy, they can visit scenic spots in Taiwan that are just as beautiful as those in other countries.”
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.