Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) yesterday said his ministry is drafting an amendment to stop scalpers who use online purchasing algorithms to buy tickets in bulk and resell them at exorbitant prices.
In a radio interview, Shih said the Ministry of Culture is working on revising the Cultural and Creative Industry Development Act (文化創意產業發展法) and expects to complete it this or early next month.
His comments came after local fans of K-pop girl group Blackpink complained about difficulties finding tickets to the group’s concerts in Kaohsiung due to scalpers.
Photo: screen grab from Hit FM radio livestream
The ministry would impose heavy penalties on people who use online purchasing algorithms to buy large numbers of tickets and resell them at inflated prices, Shih said.
While scalping and the use of algorithms to buy tickets in bulk are not covered by the cultural and creative act, they are mentioned in the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulates a fine of up to NT$18,000 for buying transportation or entertainment tickets with no intention of using them and reselling them for profit.
On Wednesday last week, several Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers called for revising the Cultural and Creative Industry Development Act to include punishments for scalping to protect the rights and interests of the public.
Photo courtesy of Live Nation
The current fine is too low and is not enough to curb scalping, they added, after a person was recently caught by police selling an NT$8,800 ticket to a Blackpink concert for NT$36,000.
The two concerts held at the Kaohsiung National Stadium performed by Blackpink on Saturday and Sunday drew more than 90,000 spectators.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique