On the first day of the Lunar New Year, a man surnamed Tsai from Taoyuan County ventured into the mountains alone from Dongpu in Nantou County, attempting to hike the Batongguan Historic Trail. He got stranded, and at around 8 a.m. on the 6th, was airlifted down by helicopter. Tsai refused medical treatment and, after giving a statement to the Sixth Division, Nanan Team of the Seventh Brigade of the National Police Agency, he shouldered his backpack and took a train home. The Taroko National Park Administration stated that Tsai had violated the National Park Act, and they issued him a 3,000 NT dollar fine.
The director of the Hualien County Fire Bureau, Yan Xin-zhang, said the rescue mission for Tsai incurred enormous social costs. Just one hour of helicopter operation cost approximately 100,000 NT dollars, with more than 35 rescue personnel involved. The total expense amounted to about 300,000 to 400,000 NT dollars, yet the fine was only 3,000 NT dollars — a starkly disproportionate figure compared to the resources expended.
The Taroko National Park Administration said the hiker surnamed Tsai had entered the mountains on the 31st of last month from the Dongpu area along the Batongguan Historic Trail. On the evening of the 4th, after getting lost, he used his mobile phone to call for help. Upon receiving the report, the administration urgently dispatched conservation patrol officers along with firefighters from Nantou County and rescuers from Hualien to search for him.
Due to thick cloud cover in the mountainous region, the helicopter couldn’t operate. The rescue team, including two experienced mountaineers, had to proceed on foot. However, Tsai was near the Mashabu outpost — a station established during the Japanese colonial era that has been abandoned for years. Reaching it from the lowlands requires a four-day hike.
On the 6th, as weather conditions improved, the helicopter took off early in the morning to carry out the rescue. It successfully airlifted Tsai down the mountain. At the time, he still had two days’ worth of food and was in good health, so he refused to be taken to hospital. After being rescued, Tsai expressed deep gratitude for the rescuers' hard work and admitted that it was entirely his fault. He was willing to accept the penalty.
Tsai said he had been hiking for over ten years and had climbed all of Taiwan’s 100 Peaks. In recent years, he often hiked alone, and it had become a normal routine for him. Especially given how difficult it is to find hiking companions, let alone those with a similar “skill level,” he chose to go into the mountains alone.
Tsai emphasized this was the first time he had gotten lost while hiking, but he won’t give up the activity. In the future, he will hike with others to avoid causing trouble for rescue teams.