Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and an award-winning singer yesterday called for increased penalties for ticket scalping, saying the practice has hurt sales and the rights of concert-goers.
Hoklo signer Weng Li-you (翁立友), who is to give a concert at the Taipei Arena on Sept. 2, said scalping had affected his fans.
A Web site allegedly operated by scalpers is asking for NT$20,000 (US$656) for a ticket to Weng’s concert that has a face value of NT$5,800, Weng said.
“Some fans save up their money for the first concert of their lives, but end up being cheated into buying from scalpers,” Weng said.
The Hoklo pop market is shrinking and measures have to be taken to ensure that tickets are available at the correct prices, he said.
“Taiwanese have long been silent [about the practice], but I feel I should stand up against [scalping],” he said.
Scalpers have also reportedly profited from reselling tickets to see British band Coldplay, and Mando-pop stars Jay Chou (周杰倫) and A-mei (張惠妹).
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the party would propose amendments to increase fines for reselling tickets from a maximum of NT$18,000 to a maximum of NT$1 million.
Scalpers would be fined five to 30 times the cost of the ticket being illegally sold in accordance with penalties for people convicted of scalping train tickets, Wu said.
Tech-savvy scalpers have moved from lining up to buy tickets to obtaining them in bulk online using malware to disrupt ticketing systems, which harms consumers’ rights, DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said.
The US has its Better Online Ticket Sales Act to target such cybercrime and Taiwan should have a similar law in place, Hsu said.
The live-music industry has an annual value of NT$5 billion and the government should complete the regulatory system to ensure the development of cultural industries, he said.
The use of malware to buy tickets would be subject to criminal punishment, the Ministry of Culture said, adding that it is drafting a law to stem scalping.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
RSS