The Cabinet yesterday expressed reservations over a request by hot spring resort operators in Kaohsiung County for government compensation for losses caused by Typhoon Morakot.
Lo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄), chief secretary of the Executive Yuan’s post-Typhoon Morakot Reconstruction Committee, said requests for government compensation must go through the courts.
Lo also urged resort operators in the Baolai hot spring area of Liouguei Township (六龜) to reconsider their plans to rebuild damaged facilities on the original sites. The increased probability of severe flooding as a result of global warming has made the area unsafe for development projects, Lo said.
The Tourism Bureau is expected to meet the Council for Economic Planning and Development and the Kaohsiung County Government sometime soon to discuss whether to restrict development in the area and whether to help hot spring owners apply for bailout loans, Lo said.
The official made the remarks during a meeting with operators of resorts in Baolai, some of which had been operating without business licenses and now hope to be legalized.
These include the Hsin Pao Lai Hot Spring Resort, which suffered losses of NT$670 million, and the Fun Chen Resort Hotel, which suffered losses of NT$65.6 million.
Lin Kuo-bao (林國寶), chairman of Hsin Pao Lai, said the operators should be entitled to government compensation because the flooding that devastated the hot spring area may have been caused by a public infrastructure project — construction to divert water to the Zengwun Reservoir.
Wu Chiu-lin (吳秋霖), chairman of Fun Chen, said the unlicensed operators had received government guidance for more than six years in preparation for their legalization and should therefore be eligible for the government’s post-Morakot tourism sector bailout program.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS