TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) on Thursday (May 11) said the attitude of Taiwanese toward cutting corners must change if Taiwan wants to become a "truly civilized country" following the deadly collision of a Taichung MRT (TMRT) train.

On Wednesday (May 10), a crane boom operated by Highwealth Construction fell onto a section of Taichung's MRT Green Line and a train collided with it 41 seconds later, killing one passenger and injuring 10 others. The deceased 52-year-old female passenger was a legal scholar and Indigenous rights advocate, Lin Shu-ya (林淑雅).

In a statement issued Thursday evening, Hsu wrote that Lin was one of only two students who he mentored before receiving their PhD in law while he was at National Taiwan University, reported SET News. He said that he was heartbroken over her tragic death, calling her an excellent, cheerful, passionate, and action-oriented public law scholar and human rights activist.

Instead of cutting corners or relying on luck, Hsu called on the people of Taiwan to display a spirit of "thoroughness" and give 100% effort, especially in work safety and transportation. Hsu said that putting faith in one's luck and the "chabuduo is good enough mentality" will cause accidents to happen again and again in Taiwan, cutting short the lives of Taiwanese, and making it impossible for Taiwan to become a "truly civilized country."

The Chinese word he used in his statement was chabuduo (差不多), which literally translates as "there's not much difference," while "chabuduo culture" means "close enough." This refers to a mentality of cutting corners when it comes to work, quality assurance, and safety measures.