Cheng remembers that it used to be difficult for Taiwanese to get work in the TRA's workshops. There were four tests and a number of barriers to be gotten through. They also had to deal with unfair competition from the Japanese. The year he began working, more than 2,000 people tested for 80 positions, but half of these positions were reserved for Japanese candidates.
他回憶，當初台灣人想進鐵路局工作室相當困難的，必須經過四次考試，層層關卡，還得面臨日本人的不公平競爭，當年鐵路局要八十個工作人員，就有兩千多人報考，而錄取名額有一半以上保留給日本人。