The Ministry of the Interior might support fees for people who are rescued by air in mountainous areas after minor or preventable hiking accidents, the ministry told lawmakers on Thursday.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) made the remark during a session of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee in which lawmakers highlighted the rising number of medical evacuations conducted by the National Airborne Service Corps last year.
The corps last year conducted 453 rescue missions, a 39.7 percent rise from 2019, accounting for more than 17 hours of flight time, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said, citing government records.
Photo copied by Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei Times
Most of them were due to hiking accidents, involving people who went to mountainous areas without a guide or sufficient preparation, she said.
The surge in domestic travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic might have contributed to the trend, Kuan said.
“While there should not be a general charge for the services, those who abuse them should pay for it,” she said.
DPP Legislator Lo Mei-ling (羅美玲) urged a user-pays principle, saying that this would help deter ill-prepared people from going into mountainous areas.
DPP Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) said that the government should draft a bill introducing fees for hikers who neglectfully necessiate rescue missions.
“People cannot knowingly go unprepared to the mountains and expect to be bailed out,” she said.
In response, Kuo said that the ministry supports proposals to charge people who need to be rescued after minor or preventable accidents due to insufficient preparation.
“They cannot call the corps to pick them up just because they feel dizzy,” he said.
Corps Captain Ching Yen-yuan (井延淵) said that the corps would discuss the issue with the National Fire Agency as well as other government departments involved in mountain search-and-rescue operations.
Rescuing a person by helicopter costs about NT$200,000, depending on the weather and terrain where an incident occurs, Ching said, adding that hikers usually do not cause rescue mission in easy terrain.
“Some search-and-rescue missions take two or three days. Sometimes specialists from other agencies have to be involved,” Ching said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS