Hot seller: porn star's special-edition metro EasyCards sell out in Taiwan despite opposition
Available only via phone hotline, some callers complained being placed on hold and not being able to help charities scheme soon enough
A special edition swipe card for Taiwan’s mass transit featuring the clothed image of a Japanese porn star sold out within hours overnight via a telephone hotline, despite a storm of opposition.
Taiwan’s EasyCard Corp. said on its website that it sold its full run of 15,000 card sets – racy but without nudity – by 4.18am local time today after phone orders started at midnight.
The stored value cards – also used for convenience store purchases and bills payments, much like Hong Kong’s Octopus card – feature images of Yui Hatano, a 27-year-old Japanese woman who local media say likes Taiwan and wants to help the card company’s charity donation scheme.
Potential buyers complained that the line was busy for hours despite their “eagerness to help charity organisations”.
Critics campaigned against the cards, saying the images disrespect women and send inappropriate messages to children. Many stores declined to sell the cards, and the company ended up offering them via hotline only.
The “black devil” card features Hatano wearing a dark strapless top, while the “white angel” card shows her donning white lingerie which shows her cleavage.
While the company defended Hatano’s images on the cards as being “healthy” and “beautiful,” it has been forced to change its position on the matter several times over the past few days.