Fire Department to Continuously Review and Improve Amid 'Pao Shan Shou' Bounty Hunter Controversy
Petr Novotny, a Czech mountaineering rescue expert known as 'Pao Shan Shou,' was criticized as a 'bounty hunter' for charging NT$100,000 to search for a hiker's body. In response, the National Fire Agency has stated it will review and refine its mountain rescue plan.
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- 📰 Published: April 12, 2026 at 22:56
- 🔍 Collected: April 13, 2026 at 00:00 (1h 4m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 13, 2026 at 10:17 (10h 16m after Collected)
Petr Novotny, a mountaineering search and rescue expert from the Czech Republic known as 'Pao Shan Shou,' has saved many mountaineers in distress over the years. Last year, he was criticized as a 'bounty hunter' by a search and rescue instructor surnamed Lin for charging NT$100,000 to search for a fellow hiker's body.
Mountaineering expert Tsai Jih-Hsing believes the fundamental reason for targeting Novotny is that his existence makes the NT$750 million fire department plan look like a scam. Hsieh Chin-ho, chairman of Wealth Media, also posted on Facebook, saying that Novotny's professional skills are recognized in the mountaineering community, and 'criticizing him as a bounty hunter is too harsh,' judging that it was because he stepped on someone else's interests.
The National Fire Agency of the Ministry of the Interior stated in a press release this evening that recent attacks by specific individuals on the private fee-based mechanism, targeting certain mountain rescue workers and publicly accusing the Fire Agency of bias and ineffectiveness in mountain rescue, must be seriously clarified.
The Fire Agency said that the 'Five-Year Medium-Term Plan to Enhance the Effectiveness of Mountain Accident Rescue' is implemented in accordance with the Government Procurement Act and has a review mechanism. In the future, it will expand the participation of private search and rescue groups in this plan and adopt a rolling review to continuously improve the effectiveness of mountain accident rescue.
Regarding this controversy, the Fire Agency stated that it has proactively submitted the case for an ethics investigation and will invite professionals with different views and positions to communicate to clarify motivations and the truth. The Ministry of the Interior will also cooperate with academic and professional groups to hold a seminar on the future development of the mountain rescue system to build consensus from all sectors.
The Fire Agency mentioned that this medium-term mountain plan originated from the frequent mountain accidents in recent years, which consumed huge government resources and caused disputes over government responsibilities during rescue processes. Therefore, from 2024 to 2028, the central and local fire departments have allocated a total of NT$749.62 million, aiming to overcome the three major difficulties of mountain rescue—'hard to find, hard to reach, and hard to rescue'—through government budget guidance.
The Fire Agency stated that this plan hopes to introduce domestic and foreign mountain activity risk management and rescue techniques, enhance the level of professional mountain rescue in the country, and establish professional mountain rescue training and teams. In the future, it does not rule out gradually promoting the takeover of rescue needs arising from mountain recreation by private resources to curb the chaos of excessive waste of public search and rescue resources.
According to the Fire Agency's press release, mountain search and rescue for human life currently relies on full cooperation between local fire departments and cross-agency, cross-unit collaboration, including the National Park Service of the Ministry of the Interior, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Tourism Administration of the Ministry of Transportation, as well as the assisting Seventh Special Police Corps of the National Police Agency, the National Airborne Service Corps, volunteer firefighters, and private search and rescue organizations. In terms of overall management, it is also closely related to the Sports Administration and the Council of Indigenous Peoples.
The Fire Agency said that the nine major tasks of this medium-term mountain plan include 'establishing a project cooperation team,' 'subsidizing satellite positioning equipment rental plans,' 'subsidizing private maintenance of hiking check-in platforms,' 'qualitative analysis research on mountain accidents,' 'cross-platform search and rescue information management system,' 'international mountain rescue professional exchange,' 'national mountain accident rescue strategy seminar,' 'mountain accident rescue instructor training,' and 'cross-agency mountain rescue training and drills.'
The Fire Agency mentioned that another NT$335.8 million budget is allocated to subsidize local fire agencies for 'fire agency mountain rescue, command, and staff operations training,' purchasing 'professional rescue equipment'—lightweight equipment, snow rescue equipment, gorge rescue equipment, and 'subsidizing the rental of rescue personnel positioning equipment'—three work items.
The Fire Agency stated that since its implementation, the number of accident cases in 2025 decreased by 8.43% compared to 2024, the number of people involved decreased by 10.57%, and the number of deaths decreased by 50%. Furthermore, starting from 2026, to expand the use of private search and rescue capacity, 11 professional and nationally capable private search and rescue teams have been selected through open bidding. In addition, each county and city can still hire other teams or individuals and utilize the newly added 12 indigenous special search and rescue teams.
The Fire Agency stated that it has always respected and affirmed the dedication and professionalism of all private search and rescue personnel and has never intentionally excluded specific individuals due to individual disputes. Mountain disaster prevention and rescue work is related to the safety of public recreation, and the central government will continue to make every effort through meaningful dialogue, public-private sector cooperation, and division of labor to ensure a more comprehensive search and rescue system and to fully protect the safety of citizens engaged in mountain activities. (Editor: Hsiao Po-wen) 1150412
Mountaineering expert Tsai Jih-Hsing believes the fundamental reason for targeting Novotny is that his existence makes the NT$750 million fire department plan look like a scam. Hsieh Chin-ho, chairman of Wealth Media, also posted on Facebook, saying that Novotny's professional skills are recognized in the mountaineering community, and 'criticizing him as a bounty hunter is too harsh,' judging that it was because he stepped on someone else's interests.
The National Fire Agency of the Ministry of the Interior stated in a press release this evening that recent attacks by specific individuals on the private fee-based mechanism, targeting certain mountain rescue workers and publicly accusing the Fire Agency of bias and ineffectiveness in mountain rescue, must be seriously clarified.
The Fire Agency said that the 'Five-Year Medium-Term Plan to Enhance the Effectiveness of Mountain Accident Rescue' is implemented in accordance with the Government Procurement Act and has a review mechanism. In the future, it will expand the participation of private search and rescue groups in this plan and adopt a rolling review to continuously improve the effectiveness of mountain accident rescue.
Regarding this controversy, the Fire Agency stated that it has proactively submitted the case for an ethics investigation and will invite professionals with different views and positions to communicate to clarify motivations and the truth. The Ministry of the Interior will also cooperate with academic and professional groups to hold a seminar on the future development of the mountain rescue system to build consensus from all sectors.
The Fire Agency mentioned that this medium-term mountain plan originated from the frequent mountain accidents in recent years, which consumed huge government resources and caused disputes over government responsibilities during rescue processes. Therefore, from 2024 to 2028, the central and local fire departments have allocated a total of NT$749.62 million, aiming to overcome the three major difficulties of mountain rescue—'hard to find, hard to reach, and hard to rescue'—through government budget guidance.
The Fire Agency stated that this plan hopes to introduce domestic and foreign mountain activity risk management and rescue techniques, enhance the level of professional mountain rescue in the country, and establish professional mountain rescue training and teams. In the future, it does not rule out gradually promoting the takeover of rescue needs arising from mountain recreation by private resources to curb the chaos of excessive waste of public search and rescue resources.
According to the Fire Agency's press release, mountain search and rescue for human life currently relies on full cooperation between local fire departments and cross-agency, cross-unit collaboration, including the National Park Service of the Ministry of the Interior, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Tourism Administration of the Ministry of Transportation, as well as the assisting Seventh Special Police Corps of the National Police Agency, the National Airborne Service Corps, volunteer firefighters, and private search and rescue organizations. In terms of overall management, it is also closely related to the Sports Administration and the Council of Indigenous Peoples.
The Fire Agency said that the nine major tasks of this medium-term mountain plan include 'establishing a project cooperation team,' 'subsidizing satellite positioning equipment rental plans,' 'subsidizing private maintenance of hiking check-in platforms,' 'qualitative analysis research on mountain accidents,' 'cross-platform search and rescue information management system,' 'international mountain rescue professional exchange,' 'national mountain accident rescue strategy seminar,' 'mountain accident rescue instructor training,' and 'cross-agency mountain rescue training and drills.'
The Fire Agency mentioned that another NT$335.8 million budget is allocated to subsidize local fire agencies for 'fire agency mountain rescue, command, and staff operations training,' purchasing 'professional rescue equipment'—lightweight equipment, snow rescue equipment, gorge rescue equipment, and 'subsidizing the rental of rescue personnel positioning equipment'—three work items.
The Fire Agency stated that since its implementation, the number of accident cases in 2025 decreased by 8.43% compared to 2024, the number of people involved decreased by 10.57%, and the number of deaths decreased by 50%. Furthermore, starting from 2026, to expand the use of private search and rescue capacity, 11 professional and nationally capable private search and rescue teams have been selected through open bidding. In addition, each county and city can still hire other teams or individuals and utilize the newly added 12 indigenous special search and rescue teams.
The Fire Agency stated that it has always respected and affirmed the dedication and professionalism of all private search and rescue personnel and has never intentionally excluded specific individuals due to individual disputes. Mountain disaster prevention and rescue work is related to the safety of public recreation, and the central government will continue to make every effort through meaningful dialogue, public-private sector cooperation, and division of labor to ensure a more comprehensive search and rescue system and to fully protect the safety of citizens engaged in mountain activities. (Editor: Hsiao Po-wen) 1150412