Many Taipei City cafes and diners turn into bars at night and violate regulations by selling alcohol to customers under the age of 18, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City councilor said yesterday, calling on the city government to improve its management of such establishments.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said certain coffee houses, such as Cafe Bastille on Wenzhou Street and Toasteria on Yunho Street, are located in “zone three residential areas,” according to the city’s Department of Urban Development regulations, which only allows restaurants, coffee houses and diners offering simple food without large-scale commercial activities.
However, the cafes and diners turn into bars at night, offering a variety of beers, cocktails and wine, and high school students wearing school uniforms were able to order alcoholic drinks, she said.
“These coffee shops violate regulations by registering as cafes, but operate as bars. What’s worse is that these places don’t ask customers for ID, and sell alcohol to teenagers without checking. This is ridiculous,” she told a press conference at the Taipei City Council.
The city’s Office of Commerce and the Department of Urban Development yesterday refused to take responsibility for the lack of inspections.
Chen Hsiu-hua (陳秀華), a division chief at the office, said the central government relaxed regulations in the Business Registration Act (商業登記法) in 2007, which only required businesses to register their operations.
The office has no authority to fine a business whose operations do not tally with the items it registered unless the business is involved in drugs or the sex trade.
The Department of Urban Development rebutted Chen’s remarks, with division chief Chen Hsin-liang (陳信良) saying business registration violations fell under the authority of the Office of Commerce and that it was its duty to hold on-site inspections.
“The office should not pass on its responsibilities to us. We will be cooperative with inspections if it decides to do so,” he said.
Chen Hsin-liang said coffee shops situated in “zone three” residential areas that operate as bars can be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 in accordance with the Urban Planning Act (都市計畫法), adding that it was the office’s responsibility to determine whether coffee shops qualified as bars.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said yesterday he would form a cross-departmental inspection team immediately and fine businesses that break the law.
“The city government will address the problem immediately and I demand that all departments work together on the subject,” he said.
Hau said the city’s Department of Social Affairs would also fine coffee shops that violate the Children and Youth Welfare Act (兒童及少年福利法) by selling alcohol to teenagers.
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