Two Taiwanese YouTubers were fined NT$10,000 for releasing a sky lantern on railway tracks at Shifen Station (十分) in New Taipei City, triggering online debate and prompting officials to promise better oversight.
The duo, known as “Tsai Tai-tai and Tsai Sheng-sheng” (菜苔苔與菜生生), said in an apology video on YouTube on Saturday that they were directed onto the tracks by vendors.
They said that many other visitors were also releasing lanterns on the tracks at that time at the popular tourist spot in New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪), but police officers later told them their actions contravened the Railway Act (鐵路法).
Photo: Huang Tzu-yang, Taipei Times
The Tourism Administration said the practice of releasing lanterns on railway tracks raises legal concerns and pledged to step up efforts to warn tourists against releasing lanterns on the tracks.
Under Article 57 of the act, pedestrians and vehicles “shall not intrude into/onto railway routes, bridges, as well as places inside tunnels and stations not designated for public use.”
The Railway Bureau said it is considering amendments to the act to meet tourism demand while ensuring safety, and would continue to review cases referred by the Railway Police before imposing penalties.
Releasing sky lanterns is a traditional practice in which a paper lantern, often inscribed with wishes or prayers and containing a fuel source that produces a small flame, is released to float into the sky.
The New Taipei City Government said lanterns can only be released in specific areas under the New Taipei City Sky Lantern Release Management Regulations (新北市天燈施放管理辦法), including between the Shifen Visitor Center in Pingsi and Shigong Bridge (師功橋) and within 200m of the Keelung River (基隆河).
The city added that releases are banned between 10pm and 6am, with contraveners facing fines of up to NT$3,000 under the Fire Services Act (消防法).
A new “New Taipei City sky lantern sustainable development ordinance” (新北市天燈永續發展自治條例) — currently awaiting approval from the Executive Yuan — would require vendors to buy certification stamps and pay a sustainable development fee, city officials said.
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