President Lai Ching-te of the Republic of China visited Taipei Main Station today (24th) to inspect the preparations for transportation during the upcoming Lunar New Year period. He also expressed concern about overseas fraud cases. During a video call with the Chairman of the Taoyuan International Airport Corporation, Yang Weifu, President Lai requested that the airport staff provide more information to travelers, urging the public to stay vigilant and avoid falling victim to scams.
President Lai Ching-te visited the Joint Disaster Prevention Center at Taipei Main Station in the afternoon to assess the traffic situation during the Lunar New Year period. He thanked the units under the Ministry of Transportation for their dedication during the holiday season, emphasizing the importance of being fully prepared to enhance service capacity. The goal is to ensure seamless collaboration across different modes of transportation and establish a contingency center for the Lunar New Year holidays, allowing people to travel happily and return home safely.
Upon arriving at the Joint Disaster Prevention Center at Taipei Main Station, President Lai first received briefings on the Lunar New Year transportation arrangements from the Chairman of Taiwan Railways, Du Wei, Acting Chairman of the Taiwan High Speed Rail, Zheng Guangyuan, Director-General of the Directorate General of Highways, Chen Wenrui, and Director of the Freeway Bureau, Zhao Xinghua. He then connected via video call with various units including the Kaohsiung Station of Taiwan Railways, High-Speed Rail Emergency Response Center, Eastern Region Maintenance Bureau of the Directorate General of Highways, Central Region Maintenance Bureau of the Expressway Bureau, and Taoyuan International Airport to hear about their respective transportation plans.
During the video call with Yang Weifu, President Lai expressed special concern about overseas fraud incidents, mentioning that Cambodia and Myanmar are currently designated as orange alert travel destinations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Thailand is under a yellow alert. He inquired whether the Taoyuan Airport has information on the travel conditions of people going to these countries and recommended that the airport staff communicate more with travelers, urging the public to stay alert and avoid being deceived.
Yang Weifu mentioned that while there are no precise numbers available at the moment, they have been monitoring the situations on these routes and have implemented fraud prevention measures for travelers heading to Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand.
As the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan is set to begin tomorrow (25th), President Lai Ching-te, in his address, expressed his gratitude for coming to Taipei Main Station today to listen to the Lunar New Year transportation plans of the Ministry of Transportation and various units. He thanked all the staff of the Ministry who work tirelessly 24/7, 365 days a year, providing continuous service to the public. Even during the holiday season, everyone remains committed to their duties to ensure people can enjoy the vacation. He conveyed his appreciation on behalf of the public once again.
President Lai pointed out that from the briefings he received, all units have made thorough preparations. Measures include adding more train and high-speed rail services or train cars to increase service capacity. Furthermore, they are implementing “collaborative defense across different modes of transportation,” where the railway administration is adding Taipei to Taichung services to support the high-speed rail traffic, and the highway administration is increasing transportation capacity for backup operations. It is also commendable that each unit has set up contingency centers for the Lunar New Year period and is utilizing artificial intelligence and big data to monitor transportation volume over the 9-day holiday, focusing on demands in the eastern, western, and outlying island regions. President Lai expressed his affirmation of everyone’s efforts.