The Kenting National Park Headquarters yesterday said it would increase nighttime patrols on beaches in the park in Pingtung County, after New Year’s Eve revelers left them covered in used firework shells and other trash.
Park officials said they had received numerous complaints, adding that they had issued a reminder that setting off fireworks in the park is illegal and subject to fines.
Local residents posted images of the waste on the Professional Technology Temple (PTT) online bulletin board system, which drew much attention from other users, the park said.
Photo courtesy of a reader surnamed Chang
A user surnamed Chang (張) posted pictures of waste left on Nanwan Beach (南灣) and said that the debris might end up in the ocean.
Another user said that the discarded firework shells could harm local marine life, while another said: “It’s these types of wretched people who are destroying Taiwan’s environment.”
Chang said he hopes that the pictures would discourage people from such behavior.
Photo courtesy of a reader
Kenting National Park Administration Deputy Director Hsu Shu-kuo (許書國) said that laws against fireworks in the park seek to prevent noisy behavior that might bother other visitors, as well as to prevent harm to the park’s ecosystem.
Those who contravene the laws can be fined NT$1,500 for first-time offenses and NT$3,000 for repeated offenses, he said.
A chicken cutlet vendor in Taichung’s Taiping District (太平) has also attracted police attention over pyrotechnics. The vendor was fined after allegedly blocking off a section of road in front of the shop to set off fireworks after 11pm on Friday, Taichung police said.
The vendor blocked off a part of the intersection of Taishun Road and Taising Road, from where staff allegedly set off fireworks without a permit, police said.
Police accused the vendor of breaching Article 82 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), which prohibits “piling, placing, setting, or throwing objects on roadways that may impede traffic.”
Contraventions of the article carries fines of NT$1,200 to NT$2,400, police said.
Police said they had learned of the obstruction after receiving an anonymous complaint, adding that the case has been handed to the Taichung Fire Bureau to determine an appropriate fine.
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