Tourism Bureau of Batang County, Garze: A meeting is currently underway to discuss and handle the issue. A tourism blogger was stopped by a fire safety supervisor and charged 200 yuan
After being blocked and charged 500 yuan in Li County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, on the afternoon of August 27th, tourism blogger "Lao La Diary" released a video claiming that he and his friends were being blocked and charged 300 yuan per vehicle by fire inspectors while driving in the Yamocuogen Scenic Area of Batang County, Garze Prefecture. Finally, he paid 200 yuan to leave after his reasonable efforts.
The blogger's "Old Spicy Diary" tells the story of the incident. Image source/social media screenshot
In response to this, the person in charge of the Tourism Bureau of Batang County responded to Upstream News reporters that they are aware of this matter and are currently holding a meeting to discuss and handle it.
According to the video exposed by "Lao La Diary", he was stopped by a man wearing a "fire safety supervisor" armband and made a promise to the man that there was no mention of collecting money in the guarantee book. When entering the scenic area, the man also did not mention collecting money. The man replied, "If you want money, you can't do it here without money." Amidst the competition among bloggers, the man proposed to charge 100 yuan less. After the blogger made the payment, the man suggested that there should also be a charge for the car in the back
The blogger's "Old Spicy Diary" tells the story of the incident. Image source/social media screenshot
On the evening of the 27th, Mr. Chen, the owner of the "Lao La Diary" account, told Upstream News reporters that this incident occurred on August 19th. He and his friends drove two cars to the Yamocuogen Scenic Area in Batang County for tourism. "There is only one entrance and exit in the scenic area, and there is a guarantee letter about forest fire safety when entering, but the fee is not mentioned above."
"When I came out, the fire supervisor said he wanted to collect money. At first, my understanding was that the two cars cost a total of 300 yuan. Later, he told me the maximum amount was 100 yuan, which was 200 yuan. When I finished paying, he said his friend's car in the future also needed 200 yuan. At that time, I was very angry and said it was impossible to give it to you again, so he opened the railing and let us go." Mr. Chen recalled.
Mr. Chen provided a screenshot of the payment record, which showed that at 16:30 on August 19th, he scanned the QR code and paid 200 yuan to an account named "Yu". Mr. Chen questioned the issue of encountering unreasonable charges and questioned in the video whether there were any relevant charging regulations in the local area and what the charging standards were. "The secret realm of western Sichuan is holy and beautiful, and must not be trampled upon by a very small number of people for personal gain."
▲ Screenshot of payment records. Image source/interviewee
On the evening of the 27th, Mr. Chen told Upstream News reporters that one hour after the video was released, staff from the Tourism Bureau and Forestry Bureau of Batang County contacted him, "Apologizing immediately and stating that a refund will be issued as soon as the situation is investigated, and a written document will also be issued. The Public Security Bureau just called and said that they have arrived at the scene to verify the situation."
Previously, on August 23rd, "Lao La Diary" released a video claiming that while driving in Li County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, he was blocked at a forest fire prevention point and charged 500 yuan, which attracted widespread attention from society.
On the early morning of August 24th, the Party Committee and People's Government of Lixian County issued a report stating that the information reported by netizens was true. The toll checkpoint for blocking the road is the Xiaomuchanggou Forest and Grassland Fire Inspection Point of the 304 Forest Farm of the Western Sichuan State owned Forestry Protection Bureau in Aba Prefecture. The toll collector is Yue 31, an employee of the 304 Forest Farm of the Western Sichuan State owned Forestry Protection Bureau.
The Party Committee and County Government of Lixian County immediately urged the Sichuan West State owned Forestry Protection Bureau of Aba Prefecture to take serious measures against the relevant parties and forest farm leaders involved. At present, the State owned Forestry Protection Bureau in western Sichuan has given Yue 31 the punishment of suspending all work and recording administrative demerits. Song X, the person in charge of the 304 forest farm, has been given a admonition speech, made a profound review to the bureau's party committee, and criticized globally.
