The Legislative Yuan today passed a bill extending the deadline for certain accommodations to apply for hotel registration, including national hero houses, teachers’ hostels and China Youth Corps (CYC) activity centers.
A 2015 amendment to the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例) required these accommodations to apply for hotel registration within 10 years to continue operating.
These accommodations, which target specific demographics and operate as hotels without being managed under related regulations, are widely considered as unfair by the hotel industry.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Another amendment proposed by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生) and others was passed by the legislature today, extending the deadline by an additional five years.
The original deadline of Jan. 21 has been extended to Jan. 21, 2030, allowing the facilities to continue operating as hostels.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators criticized the bill, accusing the KMT of granting special privileges to these groups.
KMT legislators cited the contributions these facilities made during the COVID-19 pandemic for epidemic prevention and disaster relief.
The five-year extension is a way to reward their contributions and give them ample time to apply for hotel registration, KMT legislators said.
The KMT is “committed to protecting grassroots rights, pursuing a reasonable system and benefiting the people,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) said.
Many accommodations have been unable to complete their registration within 10 years, reflecting inadequate policies in the original amendment, Lin said.
If the deadline is not extended, the livelihood of their employees would be significantly impacted, Lin added.
Rather than criticizing the bill, the DPP should focus on developing and expanding tourism, KMT Legislator Yu Hao (游顥) said.
The CYC and other entities should work hard within the next five years to apply for registration, diversifying accommodation options in Taiwan, Yu said.
The bill could help revive Hualien County’s tourism industry, which took a hit following the earthquake on April 3 last year, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) said.
DPP Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) accused opposition parties of forcing through an irresponsible bill that would be detrimental to current policies and the nation’s future.
Even with five more years, CYC activity centers would still be unable to pass fire safety, building management and health inspections due to zoning restrictions and other regulations, Hsu said.
The amendment also raises penalties for those who operate hotels, travel agencies or tourism recreational businesses without the proper licenses or registration.
Violators would face fines between NT$100,000 and NT$2 million (US$3,055 and US$61,180) and be ordered to cease operations.
The amendment further stipulates that hotels, travel agencies and tourism recreational businesses that fail to pass inspection by the competent authority would be ordered to make improvements within a given time frame.
If they fail to do so, they would be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$300,000.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS