The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday said a survey of 16 road-running events showed that nine events did not have a refund policy and the other seven allowed only conditional refunds.
The foundation said road running has become popular in Taiwan with 740 events held in 2015 — about 14.2 events each week — an increase of 42 percent compared with the previous year.
The trend continued last year, with more than 187 events held each season, it said, adding that the Chinese Taipei Road Running Association estimated that more than 400,000 people in Taiwan run regularly and more than 2 million people have participated in an event.
The foundation said admission fees for many of these events increased drastically in the past few years, such as the Taipei International Marathon, which increased from NT$1,000 in 2014 to NT$1,500 last year and the 5km Hello Kitty Run which increased from NT$1,280 in 2014 to NT$1,680 last year.
Foundation chairman Yu Kai-hsiung (游開雄) said that many organizations do not have a clear refund policy — nine events do not allow refunds while seven allow refunds with strict requirements.
An announcement by the Ministry of Education’s Sports Administration last year stipulated that road-running events fees, withdraw and refund policies should be publicly available, Yu said.
“Many road-running events accept admissions about three to four months beforehand, but due to work or health issues, participants may be unable to attend,” Yu added.
“Organizers should not set refund policies that are unfair to the consumers,” he said.
The seven events with conditional refund policies require participants to apply at least 30 to 60 days before the event takes place, and one event allows refunds only within 15 days after registration, Yu said.
To protect consumers’ rights, the foundation urged the Sports Administration to address the organizers with unfair refund policies and ask them to set policies within a given period of time, as well as set provisions in the standard contract that organizers must follow.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China. Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend. “They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.” Trump’s use of the
RSS