The Tourism Bureau on Tuesday said it has proposed including camping under the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例) to provide a legal basis for the regulation of campgrounds due to their sudden proliferation.
While there are legal campgrounds, concentrated mostly in national parks or farming resorts, there has been a sharp increase in the number of questionable operations, the bureau said.
As the number of campers in the nation has grown to 2 million, many business owners have been attempting to profit off the trend, it added.
Some businesses have occupied and developed national land, despite their designations as areas susceptible to mudslides and landslides, the bureau said.
Through the proposed statutes, the bureau said it hopes to create regulations for the establishment of campgrounds, as well as related issues.
One such issue is regulating disputes with campers, although whether the statutes would mandate that camping ground operators use a formulaic contract has not been determined.
Disputes have stemmed from a variety of management styles, with some campground operators providing nothing but land on which to camp and charging no fees, while others require users to pay for various services, the bureau said.
Whether campground owners would be forced to take out insurance for campers remains up for debate, the bureau said, adding that other issues, such as refunds, should also be considered.
While it is possible to trace jurisdiction for certain campgrounds to local governments, upholding the law would be the most difficult element, said a government official, who asked not to be named.
Personnel constraints make it difficult to catch illegal developers and most campgrounds are in remote areas, meaning it would require a tip-off for an investigation, the official said.
Ultimately, it would be up to local governments to handle how regulations are implemented and to decide which fines would be levied against those breaking the law, the official said, adding that existing fines have not created a sufficient deterrent for the illegal development of campgrounds.
The requisite amendments to the act that would allow the proposed statutes ensure that any legislative deliberation on the issue cannot occur before next year, the bureau said.
However, in the meantime, the bureau said it would consult local governments and inform them of key points of the proposed regulations so that they can inform campers and business of which campgrounds are legal.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard