Ministry of Health and Welfare proposes amendments to priority seat rules

Taipei, June 28 (CNA) The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) on Friday proposed amendments to priority seat rules, following a spate of confrontations between senior citizens and younger passengers on the Taipei metro over the past few weeks.

According to the Ministry's Social and Family Affairs Administration, the amendments include changing the wording in Article 53 of the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act from "disabled, elderly women and children" to "those with actual needs."

Chang Mei-mei (張美美), deputy head of the administration, said that the original wording "disabled, elderly, women, and children" covers a broad range of people, including those who are unwell. However, the wording might cause misunderstandings about who should receive priority.

Therefore, the wording has been changed to "those with actual needs" to make priority seats more inclusive, and to better reflect the core spirit and concept of such seats, she said.

The MOHW said there is a 7-day feedback period during which comments from the public are welcome, after which the proposed amendments will be sent to the Cabinet for approval then the Legislature for review before taking effect.

On June 11, a 25-year-old woman on the MRT Red Line refused to yield her seat to an 80-year-old woman, arguing that she was exhausted after a 12-hour shift.

The woman then physically assaulted another elderly passenger, an 80-year-old man, who attempted to intervene, after he pointed his finger at her and shouted repeatedly.

After MRT staff mediation, the man agreed not to seek legal action if the woman apologized, which she did when the three passengers involved in the incident alighted at the next station.

After apologizing to the man, 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 MRT Green Line, who claimed that he just had diarrhea, was slapped by a 75-year-old man for refusing to yield his seat.

The incident sparked further quarrels among passengers, including one who shouted "You don't have many years left to live" to the older passenger.

Currently, the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act mandates that public transportation facilities without reserved seats shall set aside priority seats for the "disabled, elderly, women and children," at a rate of no less than 15 percent of available seats.