The Taipei City Government yesterday said it would continue to inspect mobile fruit stands at the Shilin Night Market to protect consumers against overpricing, with the eventual goal of removing all mobile stalls in the area.
Several incidents of overpricing by mobile fruit stands were reported last month and subsequently confirmed by night market management, Taipei Department of Legal Affairs Consumer Protection Officer Ho Hsiu-lan (何修蘭) said.
The majority of mobile fruit stands — which offer cut fruit on-demand — overcharged customers by two to three times the market price, Ho said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Legal Affairs
They were probably encouraged by the fact that most of the area’s visitors are foreigners, who are not familiar with local fruit prices, Ho said.
The city government cannot dictate prices at the market, but last month it issued a total fine of NT$52,800 for 44 counts of breaching road, pollution and food safety laws, Ho said.
Only 19 mobile fruit vendors remain in the market, with two vendors quitting last month due to the fines, Market Administration Office Vendors’ Division head Yang Chung-cheng (楊忠誠) said.
Inspections are conducted twice a week, Yang said, adding that the ultimate goal is to remove all mobile fruit stalls.
Consumers can refuse a purchase if they feel that they did not reach an agreement on the price with the vendor or that the vendor is forcing them to do so, the Vendors’ Division said.
They should take note of the stall’s location and report it by calling 1999 to file a complaint, the division said, adding that it would prioritize that area of the market for inspection.
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
Taiwanese who have recently traveled to China for tourism, to visit friends or relatives or for business reasons have been interrogated, detained and faced other forms of unreasonable treatment from Chinese officials, a source said on Sunday. Among them was a Taiwanese who was detained for eight hours at an airport in China due to their research, which is related to religion, while others have had their travel documents for China canceled for a number of reasons, the source said. In July, China expanded the scope of its counterespionage law, and recently announced a draft amendment to the law on the protection