The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has proposed a set of amendments to an existing tourism law that would impose heavier punishments on businesses in the sector that operate illegally, after hundreds of tourists were stranded in Vietnam earlier this year.
Amendments to the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例) include raising the maximum fine for tourism-sector businesses, including hotel operators and travel agencies, caught damaging national dignity, acting immorally or defrauding tourists from NT$500,000 (US$15,375) to NT$1 million, the ministry said.
In addition, the fine for businesses that continue to operate despite being ordered to close would be increased from NT$500,000 to NT$2 million. The maximum fine for those operating without a license would also be raised from NT$500,000 to NT$2 million, the ministry said.
Fines for unlicensed tourism operators caught disseminating, broadcasting or publishing advertisements through any form of media, including television and the Internet, would increase from the NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 range to NT$60,000 and NT$1.5 million.
The proposed amendments were announced on June 20, following an incident involving 300 Taiwanese tourists who were stranded in Vietnam on a tour to Phu Quoc Island in mid-February.
The incident occurred due to a dispute over outstanding payments between Taiwan-based We Love Tour and a Vietnamese travel agency. We Love Tour was fined NT$810,000 for contravening the tourism law and the Regulations Governing Travel Agencies.
The increased fines intend to deter businesses from operating illegally or contravening laws and regulations, and would enhance the tourism sector, the ministry said.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS