Just over one year after a fire at the ALA pub in Taichung claimed nine lives, and forced the resignation of the municipality’s then Economic Development Bureau director Chu Hui-lan (朱蕙蘭), a government crackdown has resulted in shuttered bars across the city.
“Culturally, Taichung has been devastated,” said Courtney Donovan Smith of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taichung.
In response to the blaze, city officials expanded the Recreation Services Management Regulation (臺中休閒娛樂服務業管理自治條例), which now requires bars to be at least 50m away from residential zones and 200m away from schools and hospitals in all but the city’s Central District. The regulation has pushed bars out of residential neighborhoods into more commercial areas.
Photo: John Evans
About 150 to 200 of the city’s bars and restaurants have closed, according to alcohol supplier estimates that were given to the American Chamber of Commerce in Taichung,
Some of the bars were closed down by the city government, others were shuttered by their owners, who faced the prospect of heavy fines for safety code violations.
Smith estimates that up to 10,000 people have lost their jobs because of the policy.
Photo: John Evans
Greater Taichung Secretary General Mark Huang (黃國榮) said the Ministry of Interior Affairs’ stricter regulations have made the city safer.
“We are confident that [Taichung] will be better in the future,” said Huang. He added that most people he has spoken to support the regulation.
Some nightspots that used to stay open to 2am, now shut their doors at 10pm. Still others have stopped serving alcohol and hosting musical performances.
Photo: John Evans
“The city had to drive the pubs to a safer place,” said Anna Wang (王瑩), director of the Industrial Development and Investment Promotion Committee of Taichung City (台中市工商發展投資策進會).
Safety is of paramount importance, she said.
However, several business owners said the amended codes, which apply different criteria to bars and restaurants, are vague and inconsistently applied.
Photo: John Evans
“We haven’t been given a clear set of instructions,” said Keiron Hogg, a former owner of FuBar restaurant, which closed in June after operating for three years on Soho Street (蘇活大街).
Police and fire officials inspected FuBar at least a dozen times, Hogg said.
On one visit he was cited for having an illegal dumbwaiter, on another inspectors said the bar was too high off the floor. Hogg said he often asked diners to keep their empty dinner plates on the table in case inspectors arrived. They were looking for ways to classify the venue as a bar, he said.
“It was a witch hunt,” said Hogg. “The enforcement was selective.”
When FuBar closed, 10 employees were laid off. Hogg estimates FuBar’s financial losses at several million New Taiwan dollars.
But it’s the fate of neighborhood bars that concerns Joseph Wang (王羅晴), a concert promoter who owned 89K, a now closed live music venue that hosted bands and DJs.
At the expense of the small bars that once dotted residential areas, the city’s nightlife is now dominated by big discos and KTVs, he said.
The regulations dictating where a bar can open are too restrictive, said Wang.
Though the amended rules allow bars and restaurants to open in the city’s Central District, several business owners said they were reluctant to move to that area because it is largely populated by older buildings, which are costly to renovate and make safe.
Ten pubs and restaurants have signed lease agreements to operate in the Central District, said City Secretary General Huang, with four more already open for business. As an enticement, businesses can apply for a NT$120,000 subsidy through the city’s Economic Development Bureau.
In addition, Huang said, the city will help potential business owners find a suitable location to set up a bar or restaurant.
“We are optimistic this will be successful,” he said.
Dissatisfied with the stricter regulations, Joseph Wang has called on Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) to encourage more bars and restaurants to open across the city.
“It’s over the top,” said Joseph Wang. “The live music scene has been effectively killed.”
James Jones, a DJ who performs under the name Colour Wolf and whose electro nights at venues such as 89K used to attract in the region of 100 partygoers, says it’s now very difficult to find a place to play at in Taichung.
“Every single musician in town has been affected by this,” said Jones.
Jones said when he does play in Taichung, the police are quick to shut the party down.
“I do wish the rules were clear about what is allowed and what is not allowed,” he said.
The government’s crackdown is not just affecting bars and restaurants.
Steve Fenton, CEO of bicycle manufacturer Pro-Lite International and a trade show organizer, holds an annual Bike Week in Taichung that attracts 2,000 attendees from the around world.
With bars and restaurants in walking distance, Taichung, he said, was a great place to hold a biking trade show.
“Visitors would go out at least five times a week,” he said. “But now there’s nowhere for them to go.”
Attendees at last year’s Bike Week were disappointed that the city’s lively nightlife has taken a hit, Fenton said.
“It’s tarnished the image of Taichung,” he said.
Fenton said he believes politics has gotten in the way of common sense. The danger for Taichung, he said, is that Hong Kong and Singapore are eager to host Bike Week.
“Jason Hu has a marvelous opportunity in front of him,” Fenton said, “but if he doesn’t get it right people will definitely consider not coming back.”
The issue of how to respond to a fire like the one that ripped through ALA isn’t a new one for Taichung’s government.
In 1995, a blaze at the Wellcome Restaurant (威爾康西餐廳) on Taichung Port Road (台中港路) took the lives of 64 people. Facing mounting criticism, the then mayor resigned and the city closed down several large discos.
It effectively put an end to the big-disco era in Taichung, said Doug Habecker, of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taichung.
Habecker said the chamber is pushing to get community members, business owners and government officials to better communicate with each other. There is a lot of mistrust between those groups, he said.
“I want Taichung to be a vibrant city with safe places to eat and drink,” he said.
Though many bars remain closed, Sound Live House was allowed to reopen. Attracting a clientele of mostly 20-somethings, the venue doesn’t sell alcohol and closes at 10pm. Its owner, Yuki Chang (張祐齊) of the band Broken Flowers, said complying with the new regulations was frustrating.
“We were angry, sad and upset,” said Chang, who wrote scores of letters and e-mails to city officials.
Sat beneath pictures of John Lennon, Iggy Pop and Kurt Cobain, Chang said he would like to see the city government try harder to create a music-friendly atmosphere that fosters new bands.
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