TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Health Minister Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) expressed strong support on Monday (June 23) for an initiative to rename priority seats (博愛座) on the island's public transportation network, describing it as a necessary step toward creating a more inclusive society. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC, 交通部), Taiwan's government agency overseeing transportation infrastructure, has already begun developing plans to rebrand these designated seats with terminology that better reflects values of "love and inclusion," a proposal that Minister Chiu publicly endorsed while acknowledging the transportation ministry's jurisdiction over the final decision.
The renaming initiative has garnered bipartisan support, with legislators from across Taiwan's political spectrum putting forward various versions of a bill to change the current designation of these specialized seats. During his remarks, Minister Chiu noted that the years-long public discourse regarding the seats' purpose should culminate not only in renaming them but also in amending relevant legislation to expand the categories of eligible users, preserving the original benevolent intent behind their creation. The health minister characterized the priority seating system as a manifestation of societal warmth that extends care to vulnerable populations beyond just elderly citizens. In his proposal, Chiu specifically advocated for revising eligibility criteria to encompass "other actual needers," a change he believes would promote greater harmony between generations.
Adding to the discussion, Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's main opposition party, Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽) pointed out that the proposed draft amendment to Article 53 of the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act (身心障礙者權益保障法) contains specific language that clearly delineates which individuals qualify for priority seating. Chen drew particular attention to the growing population of passengers with non-visible disabilities whose needs often go unrecognized in public spaces. The legislator went further by advocating for a significant expansion of the priority seating program, calling for a minimum of 20% of all public transportation seats to be designated as priority seating to adequately address the requirements of Taiwan's rapidly aging demographic profile.
The effort to rebrand priority seating represents just one facet of a more comprehensive societal transformation taking place across Taiwan, as institutions increasingly acknowledge the diverse needs of citizens and work to create more inclusive public spaces. Transportation experts view the initiative as part of a necessary evolution in how public services adapt to changing demographics and social awareness. As parliamentary deliberations progress in the coming weeks, government officials, disability rights advocates, and transportation authorities are preparing for substantive legislative modifications that will reshape how public transit accommodates the increasingly diverse requirements of Taiwan's 23 million residents. ◼
