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Taiwan company defends featuring porn star on train cards
Taiwan's The EasyCard Corp
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aiwan's The EasyCard Corp. defended its decision yesterday to have a veteran actress in Japanese adult films appear on upcoming contactless smartcards covers on the island starting next month.
The actress in question, Hatano Yui, 27, has filmed over 1,200 adult-themed videos, and will appear in an EasyCard series called "Demons and Angels," which will be released on September 1.
Around 30,000 copies will be available for sale and the proceeds from the limited edition set will go to charitable foundations.
In a press conference, EasyCard stated that Yui was not an "official sponsor" representing the company but rather she was first photographed by a Taiwanese photographer and the images were later authorised by her media agency.
The company described the images of Yui represented a "healthy aesthetic" consisting of no inappropriate or suggestive material.
It also urged customers not to make certain "associations."
However, several netizens contradicted the company's claims, saying that one of the images of the forthcoming "Demons and Angels" series was not an original, but taken from the video image cover of a work previously completed by Yui.
Several media outlets have already confirmed that the image corresponds to a video that was released in July 2014.
In a press statement released later in the evening, the company confirmed that it was replacing one of the card covers with another image.
Asked by reporters if he knew about the company's decision, Taipei City mayor Ko Wen-je replied: "Who is she?"
The mayor laughed jovially when asked whether he found the images too racy. Ko appeared skeptical about the marketing strategy of EasyCard co-chairman Tai Chi-chuan, saying that 65 to 75 per cent of EasyCard users were female.
Stating that it was up to Tai to handle this situation, he also reminded the corporate leader that "sales increases are not everything."
"Not sure what game he (Tai) is playing here," Ko added.
According to a report that appeared in Next Magazine yesterday, employees of EasyCard held "morning brainstorming sessions" on formulating ideas for a new corporate sponsor.
After the idea was pitched to Tai who found it special, the company negotiated with the Japanese actress on a deal.
The company estimates that it currently has issued over 54 million cards.
An EasyCard spokeswoman stated that the covers would most likely be "collected" instead of being put into use.
The EasyCard set featuring Yui will go on sale on September 1, with each two-card set retailing for NT$500 (US$15.40).
