No Public Transport discounts for Foreigners - let's get this fixed

It can, they need to show the rational and why they r going against the immigration act and discriminating based on nationality. And most likely they have no real legal basis then "外國人沒辦法”, which doesn’t really stick legally speaking

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I wonder if foreigners can get into sports centers for free at 65. At the designated times for seniorcitizens, that is.

Probably not through the front entrance. It’s Taiwan.

Maybe if they jump over the back fence and sneak in through the fire escape?

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I lived in the states and UK and this definitely wasn’t true. Preferential fares were available to all foreigners with residency. Or did they mean preferential fares weren’t available to tourists?

Hong Kong gives foreigner PRs the ability to vote, access to subsidized housing and all government handouts and economic incentives.

It’s a confusing conclusion and makes me question the competency of whichever government branch came to that conclusion.

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Yeah the part about Hong Kong is also false. All residents get the same public transport discounts and benefits. It’s been this way for at least half a century.

In fact, if you’re a PR and showed people your ID card, there’s really no way to determine whether you’re a Taiwanese citizen or Hong Kong citizen.

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Very meaningful indeed…

Not happening here in Taiwan, nor in most other countries.

Well, in the EU any EU national legally resident (i.e. registered) can vote for local and european elections in the EU state of residence regardless of their nationality.

Same for UK with some commonwealth and Irish citizens (actually in the UK some commonwealth citizens can even stand and vote for national elections)

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Well Taiwan says only citizens can vote. EU is really different as only EU citizens are voting not permanent residents in most cases.

This one is not really comparable. Hong Kong’s PR is essentially citizenship without the name because citizenship is only reserved for countries.

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Pretty sure all residents should get the same access to discounted fares in UK. Same with Ireland. They are liars.

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True, my Taiwanese wife (resident) utilises all the reduced & subsidised fares when we are here. I go for free being 65+ . We went to Belgium last week and both got pensioner fares on the railways. €7.80 anywhere in Belgium, return same day.

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In EU a standardized disability card is in the making. This will make it easier for international cooperation in this regard. I hope Taiwan can use that opportunity to improve international recognition of disability and grant everyone with disability same rights (access, discounts) in Taiwan as well.

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TIL there’s a special exemption you can get from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to be eligible for discount TRA + HSR tickets.

https://www.sfaa.gov.tw/SFAA/Pages/VDetail.aspx?nodeid=1133&pid=10688

You need to have an APRC, be in Taiwan for 183 days per year for 20 years (consecutively I think), and just get a recommendation letter from the government that you are a model resident deserving of this precious discount.

Basically a national just needs to exist, but a permanent foreign resident needs to be a walking Reverend Mackay to be considered…

UGH

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FFS, let’s be grateful we can ride together with citizens, that’s already a great concession.

Appalling.

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I don’t want to make a new thread so let me just ask here. I notice at the government health centers, they have designated times during which senior citizens get in free. At the pool, they leave their health card at the front desk and then are permitted entry for free. Does anybody know if foreigners qualify for this?

I think most of these are run by the individual cities/counties and depend on their policies.

For example Taipei city is usually pretty good. You can get the elderly benefit card as long as you have an APRC and your address is in Taipei - https://dosw.gov.taipei/cp.aspx?n=4683CD9EE2EB68B1

Other cities, I’m not sure.

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