The Executive Yuan yesterday green-lighted draft amendments to the State Compensation Act (國家賠償法) that include a proposal to halt state compensation for people who die or are injured in the mountains, in a lake or at sea after being warned of the risks of engaging in activities in those areas.
The proposed amendment seeks to limit the government’s accountability for deaths, injuries or loss of property linked to public infrastructure managed by the private sector at the behest of the government.
If a death, injury or loss of property is attributable to a lack of oversight on the part of the entity managing the infrastructure, the government would continue to be responsible for compensation, the amendment states.
However, if individuals engage in dangerous or risky activities in rivers, lakes, and sea and mountainous areas even though the administrator of the area has erected signs warning against such behavior, the government would not provide compensation, it states.
If people use public infrastructure in rivers, lakes, the sea or mountain areas even though a sign is in place to warn them against doing so, the government would issue a reduced amount of compensation or none at all, it states.
The Ministry of Justice, which drafted the proposed amendment, said that the areas covered include national parks, forest parks, beaches, coasts, creeks and lakes.
Valid ways of cautioning people about potential risks would include printing warnings on tickets or entry application forms for mountain or forest areas, as well as erecting signs at the entrances to hiking trails or parks, the ministry said.
As the government might not always be aware of the condition of the public infrastructure it manages — including boardwalks, pavilions, tourist centers, suspension bridges, observatories — nor does it always have the capacity to do so in cases where warning signs have been set up, so its responsibility to pay compensation could be waived in part or in full, the ministry said.
During yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that since the government on Monday opened all mountains and forests not classified as national security or ecological preservation sites, it would encourage hikers and mountain climbers to be responsible for their own safety.
The Financial Supervisory Commission should ask insurance companies to develop packages for hikers and climbers to offer them some degree of protection against risks, Su said.
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