A law regulating free diving is needed to protect public safety and the environment, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) said on Wednesday in a call on the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Tourism Bureau to take legislative action.
Chao made the comment at a news conference in the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
In response, the bureau said that officials have completed a draft and scheduled it for discussion with the public and outside agencies on Aug. 15, with the goal of passing the law by the end of the year.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Freediving Development Association
Taiwan is experiencing a surge of interest in free diving, which brings vast business opportunities and challenges for the government to keep divers safe and the oceans unpolluted, Chao said.
Regulations Governing Water Recreation Activities (水域遊憩活動管理辦法) narrowly defines diving activities as diving with the aid of snorkels or scuba gear, leaving free diving entirely unregulated, he said.
The government should fill the regulatory gap, he said.
For-profit water sports are obligated to provide mandatory liability insurance according to the Act for the Development of Tourism (展觀光條例), but only one-third of Taiwanese diving instructors are insured, he said.
The lack of regulations put amateur enthusiasts at risk, as they might misjudge their skill level, stamina or weather, while diving tour groups sometimes behave badly around protected reefs, Pingtung Professional Union of Diving Instructors chairman Chan Hao-yu (詹皓宇) said.
Unskilled tourists often cause harm by trampling on coral, and tour groups are known to get into protected waters or sea lanes reserved for commercial fishing boats, he said.
Self-employed diving instructors qualify for insurance policies, which are carried by two domestic insurance companies, said Ting Yu-sheng (丁豫聖), a member of the Non-Life Insurance Association of the Republic of China.
The bureau has completed a draft and it anticipates that modifications would be made following discussions with officials, experts and the industry, bureau section chief Lin Hsiu-hsia (林秀霞) said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern
RSS