Councilors Criticize Vague Standards for Smoking Area Locations; Taipei Mayor Pledges to Draft Guidelines

(CNA, by reporters Chen Yu-ting and Huang Li-yun, Taipei, 9th) Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an is promoting a smoke-free city, but multiple councilors have frequently received petitions stating that smoking areas are being set up next to parks and kindergartens, revealing that the city government has not established specific site selection standards. Chiang Wan-an stated that preliminary setup guidelines will be available within a month.

The Taipei City Council held a municipal general interpellation today, where DPP Taipei City Councilor Chung Pei-ling stated that since Chiang Wan-an announced the promotion of a smoke-free city in March, the policy's execution remains in a half-baked state. This includes policy promotion on the Taipei Travel website being available only in Chinese and smoking areas being searchable only through the "TaipeiPASS" APP, making it impossible for foreign tourists to obtain the relevant information.

She further stated that the "Taipei City Smoking Area Setup and Management Guidelines" established by the city in April only state that "priority should be given to non-enclosed smoking areas" without specific regulations. This has led to most smoking areas set up by various departments being located next to parks and green spaces, forcing parents taking their children out to play to see or pass by many people smoking.

In response to Chung Pei-ling's repeated questions about the appropriateness of this site selection method, Chiang Wan-an reiterated multiple times that the policy's purpose is to properly manage and separate flows, hoping that smokers will go to designated smoking areas to smoke and not smoke while walking.

Chung Pei-ling said that as a mother, she finds it inappropriate for smoking areas to be located next to parks and green spaces and called on the city government to re-evaluate the locations. Chiang Wan-an, however, said that parks and green spaces are already non-smoking areas, and a smoke-free city does not mean a city-wide smoking ban, but rather hopes to manage flows to avoid the greater impact of smoking while walking.

Chung Pei-ling then showed photos, stating that finding a smoking area is like a treasure hunt for smokers, who have to search around after arriving at the address provided by the city. The signs are very inconspicuous, which might make smokers unwilling to comply. Chiang Wan-an stated that surrounding guidance will be strengthened.

Social Democratic Party Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya also expressed concern about the smoke-free city issue, stating that while the policy's intention is good, its execution is chaotic. For example, a smoking area in Daan District was set up next to a kindergarten pick-up/drop-off area, questioning whether this aligns with Chiang Wan-an's original intention.

Chiang Wan-an said that the main purpose of setting up smoking areas is to avoid smoking while walking and to manage flows, and that the department had reported to him that they had communicated with the local community before the setup and that it was 200 meters away from the kindergarten.

Miao Po-ya criticized this, saying that Chiang Wan-an was being deceived by his subordinates. The department's report was completely wrong; the local borough chief had reflected that they had expressed opposition during the on-site inspection by the Daan District Health Service Center, which was in charge of the setup, and refused to sign the inspection record. Moreover, the 200-meter distance was calculated from another entrance/exit.

Miao Po-ya said that under Chiang Wan-an's order, departments are racking their brains to set up numerous spots to meet performance indicators, unwilling to handle citizen petitions. This instead causes councilors to have to help resolve public grievances, precisely because there are no specific and clear site selection regulations and precautions for smoking areas.

Miao Po-ya suggested that smoking areas should be at a certain distance from places like schools and medical institutions, and that places unsuitable for smoking, like parks and green spaces, should no longer have smoking areas set up. He also called for accelerating the expansion of non-smoking areas, otherwise the smoke-free city policy is just moral suasion and cannot be implemented.

Chiang Wan-an stated that he will study the matter and that preliminary setup guidelines could be available within a month. (Editor: Hsiao Po-wen) 1150609