The Ministry of the Interior has asked agencies to change regulations on access to mountainous areas, and might consider a user-pays system to curb irresponsible behavior, the ministry said on Sunday.
Multiple accidents have occurred, with inadequately equipped hikers needing to be airlifted to safety by National Airborne Service helicopters. In one case, the rescue of a single hiking group required three separate helicopter trips to evacuate 24 people. In an incident that that occurred in February, a hiker entered a mountainous area without the required permit and then needed a helicopter rescue after injuring his toe.
Hikers often lack safety awareness and engage in behavior that contravenes the National Park Act (國家公園法), and local regulations on mountaineering activities and mountain rescue management, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of Nantou County Fire Bureau
To address the issue, the ministry said it has tasked the National Park Service, the National Fire Agency and the National Airborne Service Corps to devise new measures regarding national park access and mountain rescues.
The measures would potentially include the introduction of a user-pays mechanism, mountaineering safety education, and new regulations related to rescue operation dispatch, mountaineering insurance, mountain area management and mountaineering activity, the ministry said, adding that new penalties for contraventions would also be introduced.
A cross-ministerial meeting would be convened at the Executive Yuan to refine the measures after they are drafted, it said.
The National Park Service would take measures to enhance park entry management and services, including developing a mobile app for park visitors, the ministry said.
The app would provide push notifications with the latest weather updates, trail maps, a feature to mark themselves “safe” during inclement weather or disasters, earthquake evacuation information and educational graphics on mountaineering safety, it said.
The app would also automatically transmit hikers’ coordinates to a safety monitoring platform at regular intervals, enabling quicker rescue based on the latest location in case of accidents, it added.
Those who make arbitrary route changes, camp illegally, engage in behaviors that compromise mountaineering safety or waste resources could face a ban from applying for park access for up to three years, the ministry said.
“The aim of the penalty is to encourage responsible mountaineering and reduce accidents,” it said. “While public access to the mountains is important to encourage connection with nature, openness does not mean negligence.”
Hikers should demonstrate a respect for nature and an understanding of safety considerations, the ministry said.
“We urge hikers to carefully plan their trips, assess safety risks, prepare proper equipment, accurately register their mountain entry information and maintain communication with contacts back home,” it said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
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
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
RSS