SUBWAYS AS A SPACE OF CULTURAL INTIMACY: THE MASS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM IN TAIPEI, TAIWAN.

This article looks at several issues concerning the mass rapid transit system in Taipei, Taiwan. Delegates from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan have visited New York City in the summer of 2004. The delegates compared the subways in New York with Taipei's Jie-yun, which literally means Rapid Transit. Several Taiwanese scholars have criticized Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. (TRTC) for pursuing a sanitized and aesthetic look which adheres to middle-class lifestyles and desires. Other people commented that the aggressive campaign of TRTC to educate passengers was paternalistic at best and authoritarian and undemocratic at worst.