Internet cafe bosses cry foul over Taipei city regulations

Internet cafe owners railed against the Taipei City Government yesterday for misrepresenting the nature of their businesses to the detriment of their reputations.

"We just provide a comfortable environment for surfing the Web, reading magazines, playing computer games and eating and drinking, although visiting pornographic Web sites and gambling online are prohibited," Wang Hsu-lung (王緒龍) manager coordinator of Aztec (戰略高手), a chain of Internet cafes, said.

"But the Taipei City Government wrongly perceives us as being an illegal gaming center," Wang said.

The public hearing was organized by DDP Taipei City Councilman Jason Ko (柯景昇), held to discuss the legality of Internet cafes. Various Internet cafe operators, ISP service providers and representatives from software companies attended.

According to a Ministry of Economic Affairs (經濟部) decision in February, Internet cafes should be termed as Miscellaneous Entertainment Businesses, rather than as Electronic Games Centers.

The Taipei City Government, however, views Internet cafes as illegal computer game centers that operate without a license. According to Section 15 of the Electronic Game Regulation Act (電子遊戲場業管理條例), businesses that let people play computer games on their premises should have a license.

All present Internet cafe operators objected to the policy of the Taipei City Government. "We are treated as a computer games center. They only focus on the games and ignore the real nature of our business," Wang complained. "Parents often accompany children to our Internet cafes. Some parents even drop their children here when they go to the cinema," Wang said.