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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Travel agency’s liability in rockslide investigated
Trans Continental Travel Service representative Chen Su-hua attends a news conference in Taipei on Sunday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
The Tourism Bureau yesterday said that it is investigating whether Taipei-based Trans Continental Travel Service Co （東晟旅行社）, which arranged tours to Yichang in China’s Hubei Province, should be held accountable after three Taiwanese tourists were killed and two injured in a rockfall on Sunday.
The fatal accident was one of the topics at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） Legislator Cheng Pao-ching （鄭寶清） said that the Chinese government had been issuing heavy rainfall alerts in Yichang and the surrounding areas, which were reported to have already affected 2.8 million local residents.
Cheng questioned why the travel agency continued to take tourists there if it knew that there would be heavy rain in the area, adding that the travel agency would be at fault if it had gone on to hold the tour despite the area to be visited being a disaster zone.
DPP Legislator Lee Kun-tse （李昆澤） said that the government should intervene and assist the families of the victims in handling funerals and other matters, even though the incident happened in China.
He asked whether Taiwan had encountered difficulties in contacting Chinese officials considering the stagnation of the cross-strait relations.
Taiwan and China had dispatched officials to Yichang to discuss handling the aftermath of the accident, Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan （賀陳旦） said.
Both sides had agreed to expedite administrative procedures for the victims’ families, he added.
Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Chang Shi-chung （張錫聰） said that the bureau had initiated emergency procedures after being informed about the accident, adding that officials from the bureau’s Beijing office had on Sunday night arrived in Yichang to help the families communicate with the Chinese officials.
Chang also said that the Regulations Governing Travel Agencies （旅行業管理規則） stated travel agencies would face penalties if it is determined that they failed to ensure safety during tours.
The bureau would also investigate whether the Chinese government had cautioned the tourists against entering the area or closed the area to tourists, Chang said, adding that the bureau would find out if the parties involved had committed errors.
According to the regulations, a travel agency can be fined a maximum of NT$50,000 for failing to ensure tourists’ safety, Chang said
However, the Transportation Committee last week proposed raising the penalty to NT$500,000, he added.
Whether the travel agency would be penalized for the accident would depend on the results of the investigation, Chang said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
