Fri, Sep 05, 2014 page8

• Night market laws to boost tourism

  • By Hsiung Liang-yuan 熊亮原
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  Tourists often enjoy the sheer diversity of cuisine that can be found in Taiwan. Many Taiwanese vendors earn a living working in the various night markets and street stalls dotted around the country and the vast majority of their customers are from China, Hong Kong, South Korea or Southeast Asia.

  Living standards in Taiwan represent a developed country and both local governments and the vendors working in these night markets or on the street stalls have a shared responsibility above and beyond developing tourism — they must prioritize improving the quality of service.

  The owners of these shops, stands and restaurants should ensure their premises are clean, hygienic and offer a pleasant experience to customers in order to meet tourists’ expectations. This is essential if the nation wants to offer a tourist experience consistent with that of a developed country.

  Minister of Economic Affairs Woody Duh (杜紫軍) recently suggested that night market vendors should start to pay tax. This presents the perfect opportunity to implement nationwide standards.

  Although Taiwanese cuisine is internationally recognized, the unhygienic, chaotic nature of night markets puts a lot of foreign tourists off. This makes it difficult to attract Western tourists and the nation certainly has a long way to go before it can emulate the success of Singapore, for example.

  Now that Duh has called for the regulation of these food stands and stalls, local governments should come up with proposals for how best to implement this, such as allocating areas for specific activities, providing guidelines on how to maintain cleanliness and order, preventing stalls from obstructing thoroughfares and creating self-regulatory bodies run by vendors, for vendors, that will keep their members in line.

  This would constitute a thorough overhaul of street vending in the nation and would go some way toward dispelling the impression that Taiwan is dirty and disorderly. It would certainly help to encourage more foreign tourists to visit and sample the food and generosity that the nation has to offer.

  However, in the interests of fairness, the street vendors and night market stall holders should start paying tax on their takings, as many of them sell out of tiny premises often making 10, 20 or even 30 times the amount in profit that restaurants with storefronts make. This issue is a source of some resentment regarding the inequality of the government’s tax system.

  In Western countries, stall holders, whether working out of fixed or mobile premises, are subject to a given tax rate on their takings, which is rigorously enforced.

  There is little argument against appropriate regulations being beneficial to the implementation and development of a tourism policy, and they would also help to get rid of dirty and unhygienic food stands.

  A friend of mine emigrated and set up a stand overseas. Every year, this friend has to apply for a business license from the local city government and pay rent on the premises, which depends on size and location. Even the sign cannot exceed certain dimensions. There are strict stipulations regarding inspections and requirements concerning the appearance and level of cleanliness.

  The surroundings must also be kept orderly, otherwise the owner will be fined and their rental contract terminated.

  Any issues with street vending can be easily solved if the government takes charge and the public exercise their own sense of responsibility.

  As far as the Ministry of Finance is concerned, no mobile vending stalls — those that have no fixed hours or location — are required to pay tax and they also create a lot of mess and are a major impediment to the development of tourism.

  The government needs to release a new set of guidelines and devise a way to regulate mobile vending stalls.

  The flea market in Taipei’s Tianmu area serves as a reference — although it too could be better managed. It would be a good idea for the organizers to look at how regulations on things like the arrangement of the sizes of the stands, food cleanliness, clearly-defined routes, Internet applications, clearing up, legal infringements and the nature of what is being sold are handled in other countries.

  The government could quite easily regulate stalls that are either fixed or which have obtained business licenses from the local government. On top of levying a 5 percent tax on takings, it could also impose an additional cleanliness charge to pay for government-contracted cleaners.

  If the government and the public work together on this, it will create more jobs in the leisure sector and help stimulate the economy.

  Hsiung Liang-yuan is an associate professor at Kun Shan University’s Department of Information and Communication.

  Translated by Paul Cooper
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