A proposed amendment that would raise fines for ticket scalping passed a preliminary reading in the legislature on Monday. The amendment to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which was proposed by three Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators and one independent legislator, would see the maximum fine for scalping raised from NT$18,000 to NT$30,000.
Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) opposed the bill, saying that its wording introduced some overlap with the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act (文化創意產業發展法) and the Sport Industry Development Act (運動產業發展條例). She also expressed concern that the bill listed only some categories of tickets while omitting others.
It is clear that existing laws have failed to deter scalpers, but the modestly increased fines proposed are unlikely to make a meaningful difference.
A news report on Oct. 3 last year said that 5,000 free tickets for singer Jody Chiang’s (江蕙) comeback concert were claimed within 15 minutes, only to appear online shortly afterward, with scalpers asking up to NT$10,000 per ticket. In such cases, a scalper would need to sell just three tickets to offset the proposed maximum fine if caught.
Catching scalpers is further complicated by the fact that ticket purchases and resales can be conducted entirely online. In addition, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) pointed out in March 2023, scalping cases rarely proceed to court. From 2019 to 2023, only 36 cases were referred for prosecution under the Social Order Maintenance Act, and just 18 resulted in court-imposed penalties.
Even when scalping cases result in prosecution, the harm is often already done. Tickets for major concerts and events are typically sold online and tend to sell out quickly. If a scalper is caught and their tickets become tied up in litigation, those seats might remain unused by the time the event takes place. This not only affects the performers, but, in the case of international acts, could also tarnish Taiwan’s reputation as a reliable host for global events.
In June 2023, the Ministry of Culture announced plans to ask the Taipei and Kaohsiung city governments to implement real-name ticketing systems for concerts at five major venues: the Taipei Arena, Taipei Music Center, K-Arena, Kaohsiung National Stadium and Kaohsiung Music Center. However, not all concerts would require implementation of real-name systems, it said at the time.
It remains unclear why the ministry did not advocate for legislation mandating the use of a real-name ticketing system for all entertainment events. The scope could be limited to events with 10,000 or more attendees, or ticket prices of NT$1,000 or more.
The government could also require that tickets be purchased through a designated platform using a national ID card, Alien Resident Certificate or foreign passport, which would need to be shown at the time of redeeming the ticket. This would effectively eliminate scalping, since tickets could only be purchased for personal use.
Of course, a real-name ticketing system would limit the ability to legitimately resell or gift tickets. To address this, the designated platform could include a mechanism for refunding unredeemed tickets, allowing for flexibility without opening the door to scalping.
The prevalence of scalping has led many Taiwanese to attend international concerts in Japan, Singapore or other parts of East and Southeast Asia. Addressing this issue would not only benefit Taiwanese, but could also position Taiwan as a more attractive destination for international concertgoers.
While broader reforms, such as addressing high hotel rates and other persistent problems in the tourism sector, are still needed, eliminating ticket scalping would be an important step in the right direction.
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