A gathering and sitting ban was imposed on the lobby of Taipei Main Station a while back due to COVID-19. There were later rumors that the sitting ban would be permanent, sparking controversy. After hearing everyone's opinion, Taiwan Railways decided to use smiley floor stickers to create a "friendly" environment.


The lobby of Taipei Main Station has a new look with smiling, laughing and blinking emoji floor stickers and the word "smile" written in a dozen languages including Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Indonesia, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and indigenous dialects. Many tourists are stopping to snap photos of the floor.

We come here to hang out with our friends. We all sit on the floor together.

We have done such a good job with epidemic (prevention), and we need to open (the lobby) to these people who have spent the epidemic period in Taiwan. At this stage, everyone is in the same boat. Sometimes we all need to smile and get things off our chest.

Taiwan Railways imposed a ban on gathering and sitting on the lobby floor a while back due to the pandemic and there were later rumors the sitting ban would be permanent. There was both support and opposition to this, as migrant workers often congregate in the lobby on their days off. This led to some groups saying the station was an "unfriendly" landmark.

In response, Taiwan Railways discussed the issue with civic groups and decided the space should be designated for public use and civic participation. The first step it took to achieve this was sticking smiley stickers on the floor to show the station's diversity, friendliness, and tolerance.

In principle, (the lobby is a) public space for public use. Our goal is to create a friendly environment and we welcome all travelers to use the space as they see fit.

Taiwan Railways says everyone can find their own space inside the station and Taipei Main Station will prove it is a culturally diverse and ethnically friendly landmark over time by adding more seats and opening to non-profit and charity events.



台北車站大廳現在有新面貌，黑色地板貼上微笑地貼，舉凡微笑、張嘴大笑、眨眼笑，各式笑臉一應俱全，白色地板同樣別具巧思，用了包括中、英、日、韓、印尼文、菲律賓文、越南文等10種語言，台灣各式族群的文字，寫下微笑字樣，讓北車的黑白大廳，搖身一變成了微笑大廳，吸引不少旅客打卡合影。

移工表示：「每個人都可以來這裡，一起跟朋友這樣聊天，一起坐著在地上，可以！」

民眾表示：「現在我們疫情(防疫)做得那麼好，更需要開放給他們這些，從好不容易在台灣過這個疫情的。現階段，大家一起度過，有時候我們大家要微笑一點，不要悶太久。」

台鐵先前因疫情影響，宣布北車大廳禁止席地而坐跟集會，還傳出規劃為永久禁令，引發外界正反兩極聲浪，部份民團批評北車是不友善地標。對此，台鐵在和公民團體舉行會議後，達成公共空間、公共使用、公民參與的共識，第一步採用國際通用的友善符號，也就是笑臉，展現北車的多元、友善及包容性。

台北車站站長 涂維庭表示：「原則上，公共空間公共使用，我們以打造友善的環境為目的下，我們歡迎在北車大廳所有的旅客，他能夠依照他的想法，在這個大廳找到屬於自己的空間。」

台鐵表示，不論民眾對北車大廳席地而坐的看法，是支持或反對，都能在這找到屬於自己的空間，北車也會階段性推出友善方案，包括增設座椅、受理非營利公益性質活動，讓北車大廳成為多元文化，跟族群友善的代表地標。