The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Friday proposed amendments to priority seat rules, following a spate of confrontations between elderly and young people on the Taipei Metro over the past few weeks.
The amendments include changing the wording in Article 53 of the People With Disabilities Rights Protection Act (身心障礙者權益保障法) from “disabled, elderly, women and children” to “those with actual needs,” the Social and Family Affairs Administration said.
The wording “disabled, elderly, women and children” covers a broad range of people, including those who are unwell, but might cause misunderstandings about who should receive priority, agency deputy head Chang Mei-mei (張美美) said.
Photo: CNA
It would be changed to “those with actual needs” to make priority seats more inclusive and better reflect the core spirit of such seats, she said.
There would be a seven-day feedback period, after which the proposed changes would be sent to the Cabinet for approval, then to the legislature for review before taking effect, the ministry said.
On June 11, a 25-year-old woman on the MRT’s Red Line refused to yield her seat to an 80-year-old woman, saying she was tired after a 12-hour shift.
The 25-year-old allegedly then physically assaulted another passenger, an 80-year-old man, who attempted to intervene, after he pointed his finger at her and shouted repeatedly.
MRT personnel mediated and the man agreed not to seek legal action if the young woman apologized, which she did when they alighted at the next station.
After apologizing, the woman, who appeared to be in emotional distress, began repeatedly bashing her head against a pillar in the station to the point where she started to bleed profusely.
Another incident happened on June 18, when a 29-year-old man on the Green Line, who said he had diarrhea, was slapped by a 75-year-old man for refusing to yield his seat.
That led to further quarrels among passengers, with one reportedly saying to the older passenger: “You don’t have many years left to live.”
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