Taipei City Government: Escape Rooms and Board Game Lounges Must Mandatorily Insure Against Public Accidents

(Taipei, June 16, reporter Huang Li-yun) The death of an employee at an escape room venue, who suffocated while portraying a hanged ghost, has sparked public controversy. Taipei City Councilor Hung Chien-yi has proposed including escape room venues and board game lounges in the list of facilities required to mandatorily insure for public accident liability. The Taipei City Government stated today that the legal amendment is underway and is expected to be implemented by early August.

During the afternoon session of the Public Works Committee at the Taipei City Council, councilors discussed the proposal. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilor Hung Chien-yi urged the Taipei City Government to swiftly revise the 'Taipei City Regulations on Mandatory Public Accident Liability Insurance for Consumer Venues' in response to recent serious incidents at escape room venues. The proposal calls for including escape rooms and board game lounges in the mandatory insurance annex list.

Additionally, the proposal requests the establishment of dedicated safety standards and a joint inspection mechanism for emerging experiential venues to eliminate public safety blind spots and protect consumer and employee safety.

In response, Yu Ji-hsueh, Director of the Taipei City Building Management Office, stated that immersive experience venues (escape rooms) and board game lounges have already been included in the revised regulations' annex for mandatory public accident insurance. The draft amendment is currently undergoing pre-announcement procedures and is expected to enter the official announcement phase within half a month.

Yu said that after completing the announcement process, the amendment will be submitted to the Council's Legal Affairs Committee for review, then approved by the city's executive meeting before being officially implemented. The entire legislative process is estimated to be completed by the end of July or early August. (Edited by Chang Ming-kun) 1150616