Recently,
Taiwanese government announced that the freeway toll stations will all change
into Electronic
Toll Collection System(ETC). Now called eTag system,
which is an electronic system that, as its owner Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection
Co. (FETC) proclaimed, will increase passing volume of toll stations,
save payment time, improve convenience and safety, reduce air pollution, and reach
truly financial equality. And because of this, Taiwanese government decided to
lay off nearly 800 toll collectors, making them wondering for their future.
However, the eTag system now face great deficit, as the company
itself claims(note 1), FETC already lost 3 billion
NTD. Also from the static of current operation of eTag system, provided by Taiwan
Area National Freeway Bureau, indicating that the rate of usage had risen
nearly 20 % between the year 2012 and 2013, which is the time that Taiwanese
government announced the total change of freeway toll stations. The great leap
of eTag appliance is not because Taiwanese people love it, it's because the
government forced us to do it. We can even consider this act of government as a
violation of our freedoms of choice in the Constitution, because we have
no other options to choose but eTag system.
 |
| The charts of ETC(eTag) usage rate |
As
for those toll collectors that were laid off by the government, their future
and their treatment are not as bright and stable as Taiwanese government and FETC
claimed to be. In the August, 2013, FETC and the government once promised that
they will assist the toll collectors for future
transference of their career, but there were only 30 people successfully change
their jobs, and the number of the laid off collectors were 244 or more. Now
there are near 800 people waiting for job transference, although FETC still
promised to assist the transference, the future of these people lies in dark.
They are mostly low-educated and aged people, it hard for them to find a stable
job in nowadays society. The job of our government is to protect and support
our living, and if all these people didn't find their jobs, the expense of
social security that will spend on them will surely be a great burden for
Taiwanese government.
In addition to the aforementioned problems,
here is a bigger question lies ahead. Why does our government be so persist in collaborating with FETC, the company
which had been suffering great deficit from the time Taiwanese government
announced the presence of ETC. And just after FETC got the open bidding of ETC, almost immediately
burst out the news of SONG,NAI-WU(note 2), the ex- confidential
secretary of Taiwan Area National
Freeway Bureau, accepting the bribe from the tenderer, and try to leak out
bidding information to the tenderer. He had been sentenced by Taiwan Supreme
Court to serve 12 years in jail. With such flagrant Bribery present in front
of their eyes, instead of finding another company Taiwanese government choose
to let FECT keep working on the ETC project. Until now, FECT is still operating
on the ETC project, and our government is still trying to pursued us into
believing this company is the best choice for us. How can we trust the
government if corruption had brazenly rooted in? How can we depend our
government to protect us if it kept ignoring our right for living and freedom?
Note 1. FECT's claim of deficit
Note 2. Taiwan supreme court sentenced SONG, NAI-WU to serve 12 years in jail because of bribery
References
Development,
Toll&Service Div.
Special
Report on Electronic Toll Collection --「Public Participation in Build and Operate Project for Electronic Toll
Collection System on Freeways」Toll&Service Div.201311/04
Although it is like what you had mentioned the current situation of ETC is not like that promising as expected. However, if we are willing to give it some time to arrange it the future profit is beyond imaging. As for the problem of the unemployment of the manual toll collectors I think it is the fault of the government and the Far Eastern company. The government did not do the job of supervising the company therefore caused the promise to sank. However, I think these are the problems that matters to the company and the government. If they had managed well on how to solve this problem I think the whole process will be a lot easier that now.
回覆刪除Paragraph 1:
回覆刪除“Recently, Taiwanese government announced that the freeway toll stations will all change into…”→maybe u can add the date when the policy will put into effect
“Now called eTag system, which is an electronic system that, as its owner Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co. (FETC) proclaimed” →The eTag system is an electronic system which as its…
“And because of this” →delete “and”?
Paragraph 2:
“now face great deficit” →a great deficit or great deficits
“as the company itself claims(note 1)” →claims[1] (maybe u can use the superscript
“Also from the static of current operation of eTag system, provided by Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau, indicating that the rate of usage” →From the static…indicate that the usage rate…
“Taiwanese people” → Taiwanese
Paragraph 3:
“it hard for them to find” → it’s hard…
Last paragraph:
“And just after FETC got the open bidding of ETC, almost immediately burst out the news of SONG,NAI-WU(note 2), the ex- confidential secretary of Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau, accepting the bribe from the tenderer, and try to leak out bidding information to the tenderer.” → …ETC, the scandal of SONG,NAI-WU[2], the ex- confidential secretary of Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau, immediately burst out. Evidence shows that SONG accept the bribe…
“FECT is still operating on the ETC project, and our government is still trying to pursued us into believing this company is the best choice for us.” → FECT still operates the ETC project, and…into believing that this…
“if corruption” → if the corruption
“How can we depend our government” → maybe “expect” is better?
I think your notion is good, i always feel discouraged and desperate when i read news about our government