It's not only a question of quality that has mapmakers such as Tang and Lien up in arms. Copyright infringements in the mapmaking world are rife. While trustworthy companies purchase aerial photos from the Forestry Bureau (林務局) and satellite imagery from National Central University (國立中央大學) many of the maps on bookstore shelves are illegally produced.
While Tang has reservations about many of maps produced in Taiwan he has nothing but praise for the island's most assiduous mapmakers, the Forestry Bureau.
Since martial law was lifted, it has been the job of the bureau to map the entire island, a task that is undertaken ever five years. With the exception of the military, the bureau has the most up-to-date and comprehensive database of maps of Taiwan.
Although the bureau receives few requests from private individuals for maps, many are in fact readily available for private use free of charge. People planning a long jaunt into the central mountain range are advised to get their maps from the bureau rather than anywhere else, as hundreds of people get lost every year because of the many low-quality tourist maps of Taiwan's wilderness.
As for when the multitudes of Taiwan's directionally challenged will one day be able to give comprehensive directions, that day will come sooner rather than later if Tang's association has its way.
The Chinese Taipei Society of Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing is at present holding talks with the Ministry of Education to consider setting up programs within schools. It is hoped that the programs will at least give students a basic knowledge of their whereabouts.
RSS