About 600 tour guides protested at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday, demanding that Minister Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) step down over what they said was a failure to crack down on illegal tour guides.
Shouting: “I am a tour guide and I love Taiwan,” protesters marched from the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and gathered at the main entrance of the ministry’s offices.
They said the government’s policy of increasing the number of free and independent tourists (FITs) from China allowed Chinese tour guides, who are banned from working in Taiwan, to enter the country as FITs, but in reality work as tour guides.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Protesters also said that the groups led by Chinese tour guides were mostly low-priced tour groups in which Chinese tourists are forced to engage in excessive shopping so that the tour guides can earn commissions. Rather than punishing these illegal Chinese tour guides, Taiwanese tour guides are often blamed for ripping off Chinese tourists through shopping tours, they said.
The phenomenon had hurt the dignity and image of the Taiwanese tour guides and affected their right to work, protesters added.
As well as asking Yeh to step down, protesters also demanded that the Tourism Bureau be replaced and that the government crack down on illegal operators.
Meanwhile, the government should protect tour guides’ right to work and establish a one-stop task force to handle the affairs of Chinese tourists, protesters said.
Bureau Deputy Director-General Chang Hsi-tsung (張錫聰) accepted the petition on behalf of the ministry.
He said that the government increasing the number of Chinese FITs does not reduce the market for Chinese tour groups.
“We aim to help the tour guides form a national tour guide union by the end of this year as a way to improve their working conditions and help settle labor disputes,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chang said that the bureau is considering amending the Tourism Development Act (發展觀光條例) to allow Taiwanese tour guides to offer guided tours to small groups of Chinese FITs.
He also said that the bureau had added an article to the Regulations for Administration of Travel Agencies (旅行業管理規則) stipulating that tour guides and travel agencies should sign a contract stating that tour guides should receive reasonable wages from their operators. The article says tour guides’ wages cannot be replaced by tips, commissions earned through shopping tours or other means.
In addition, the Rules Governing Permits for People from Mainland China Conducting Tourists’ Activities in Taiwan (大陸地區人民來臺從事觀光活動許可辦法) are to be changed, Chang said.
The penalty for violation of the rules is currently between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000.
In future, the penalty could range from a one-month suspension of business to revoking their licenses altogether, Chang said.
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