Taiwan Today

Learning how to scuba dive can be an eye-opening—and mind-expanding—experience. “I used to be extremely afraid of getting in the water. But when I turned 50 last year, I decided it was time to conquer my fear and take a look at the marine beauty of Taiwan,” Will Chen (陳文鈺), a bank auditor in Taipei, says of his reasons for enrolling in a scuba course in fall 2013. Previously, Chen could only listen as his wife, an amateur diver, described the undersea wonders found near Green Island, which lies about 30 kilometers off the coast of Taitung County, southeastern Taiwan, but now he can discover them for himself. His childhood water phobia has largely dissipated since he took up diving, although he still battles the occasional pang of anxiety.

As for Taiwan proper, the top dive sites are found along the northeast shore and off the southern tip in Kenting National Park. One of the best-known spots on the northeast coast is Longdong, which is close enough to the populous Taipei area to offer a good venue for open-water scuba training, despite the occasional cloudiness of the water. The high visibility and rich marine life of the waters surrounding Green Island and Orchid Island, which also lies off Taitung County, however, make them Taiwan’s best diving destinations. Other dive sites are found in the southern part of the Penghu archipelago, although fewer enthusiasts visit Penghu because of its comparatively remote location some 45 kilometers off southwestern Taiwan.

Meanwhile, new dive destinations are coming into vogue. “An increasingly popular venue is Xiaoliuqiu, where it’s easier to spot sea turtles,” Simon Chang (張世杰), a veteran diver, instructor and scuba equipment dealer, says of the tiny islet, which can be reached by a 30-minute boat ride from Pingtung County, southwestern Taiwan.

Jessie Lin (林家祺), a scuba aficionado from Taipei, pursues her hobby every weekend during the summer, which is the best time for diving off northern Taiwan. “Every time I dive I’m rewarded with different experiences, different undersea sights,” she says. According to Lin’s instructor Kevin Wang (王銘文), who teaches classes at Longdong and Green Island, the diving season in the north runs from May through September, whereas good conditions can be found year round in Kenting and the islands off Taitung county. “The strong northeast monsoon in the north that starts in late fall can make it dangerous to be near the coast. And the temperature of the water can be uncomfortably low in the region from fall through spring,” he explains.

Diving has grown in popularity in Taiwan, but the sport has faced a number of cultural and regulatory hurdles along the way. Although the country is surrounded by oceans, the fear of plunging into open water is not uncommon, says Lo Wun-der (羅文德), founder of the Inner Space Dive Center in Taipei and a senior scuba instructor for Chen and many other students. “Taiwan’s parents can be too protective,” he says. “They often tell their children to stay away from seaside areas because they worry about the danger of drowning.”

Martial law, which was in place from 1949 to 1987, played a role in discouraging the development of leisure activities and sports in and near the water. Under martial law, large portions of Taiwan’s shoreline were officially off-limits to the public, the only exceptions being certain beaches that were open to swimmers. The reality was somewhat different, according to Su Yeng (蘇焉), 63, who began diving in the mid-1960s, with scuba enthusiasts of the era often playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the soldiers guarding Taiwan’s shores. “There were times when they fired warning shots in the air to try to scare us away. But sometimes they turned a blind eye on such ‘illegal activities’ if they realized we were just diving for fun,” he says.

First-Generation Divers

Recreational diving was introduced in Taiwan in the mid-1960s by an expatriate German car dealer, who taught Su the techniques of the sport when the latter was just 14 years old. Keen on promoting the sport, the German diving enthusiast founded Taiwan’s first scuba club in Taipei. His students became Taiwan’s first generation of scuba divers, and some like Su went on to become professional instructors. These days, Su teaches in the Department of Marine Sports and Recreation at National Penghu University of Science and Technology.

“After martial-law rule ended, divers finally could enjoy the sport without being harassed,” Su says, adding that boat diving, which was strictly prohibited under martial law, became increasingly popular. Boats, which enable divers to explore much farther offshore, are especially important in areas such as Kenting, where the undersea scenery improves as one moves away from the coast.

The lifting of martial law also cleared the way for the founding of private clubs and organizations. This was important for the sport’s development, Su says, because it allowed for the formation of scuba associations that offered formal instruction. The Chinese Taipei Diving Association, Taiwan’s biggest promoter of the sport, was established in 1989, only two years after martial-law rule ended.

International organizations that certify divers and instructors gained a foothold in Taiwan about the same time. In 1988, the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), a US-based group founded in 1959, opened its first training courses for instructors in Taiwan. Not surprisingly, Su was one of the six teachers—and the only teacher from Taiwan—for those courses. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), founded in the United States in 1966 and now the world’s largest group of its kind, began training divers in Taiwan around 1990.

In 1980, Taiwan was home to 17 scuba clubs and some 5,000 people who had tried the sport. By 1988, the number of clubs had risen to 46 and the number of those with diving experience had increased to more than 30,000. Today, there are more than 100 clubs and more than 300,000 people who have received scuba training in Taiwan, although the number of those who regularly explore the undersea world stands at approximately 10,000, according to Chang, who teaches diving at the Department of Marine Leisure and Tourism at Taipei College of Maritime Technology.

Teaching the Basics

There are more instructors and divers certified by PADI than NAUI in many countries, so it is no surprise that Taiwan has a PADI-dominated scene, although it is not unusual to find divers trained under NAUI and other international associations, according to Lo. All of the international systems teach the basics of scuba in much the same way, although they do differ in some respects. PADI instructors, for example, stick to a set of well-developed teaching materials and courses, whereas NAUI allows instructors to teach in the way they think best. PADI sends its own examiners around the world to administer certification tests for would-be local instructors, but NAUI authorizes senior instructors like Su to perform the task.

Today, it is easy for those who wish to try the sport to find classes, as the number of Taiwan’s PADI-certified instructors alone is in the hundreds and growing, although not every person who earns such certification ends up teaching. “Some people take the instructor’s test just to prove their ability as an outstanding scuba diver, and some take the test because the process of preparing for it makes them a safer diver,” says Chang, a NAUI-certified instructor.

Lo’s dive center is a major PADI hub that offers entry-level courses for about NT$12,000 (US$400). Students receive basic instruction in the sport for a few hours in the center’s classroom before proceeding to Taipei’s Nangang Sports Center, where they get their first experience of what it is like to breathe underwater in a swimming pool that is about 5 meters deep. “Good swimmers don’t necessarily learn diving faster than others,” Lo says, speaking from years of experience teaching scuba courses. “The point is that you have to learn how to breathe normally using the scuba apparatus. If you can’t do that, you can use up all the air in your tank too quickly.”

After completing the pool classes, students make two trips to specific spots on Taiwan’s northern coast, such as Longdong, for controlled open-water dives. In the first outdoor session, instructors allow students to descend to a maximum depth of 12 meters, while in the second they can explore down to 18 meters.

Lo encourages newly certified divers to take advanced courses to increase their enjoyment of the sport. Chen agrees, saying that although the entry-level courses he has taken have provided an introduction to diving, he needs more practice to make sure that he has thoroughly learned the necessary skills. Advanced courses usually include three trips to open-water areas, with two half-day sessions by daylight and one taking place at night.

Serious divers like Lin, who took her first scuba class 10 years ago, often opt for even more advanced training. “I took an enriched air diver course so I can go deeper and stay in the water longer,” she says, adding that such training has enabled her to explore waters more than 30 meters deep. In summer 2013, Lin decided it was time to take a rescue diver class. “The longer you participate in the sport, the more you learn about its dangers, and the more cautious you get about plunging into the water,” she explains, adding that rescue training has made her better prepared to cope with emergencies and help other divers.

Scuba diving is an enjoyable sport, but it does involve risks ranging from decompression sickness to drowning. “I don’t take people to dive sites if they don’t have a certificate. After all, safety comes first,” Wang says, adding that he requires customers to sign a disclaimer indicating that they are aware of the potential dangers of the sport.

Certified Safety

In response to the growing interest in water sports in Taiwan, in 2004 the government enacted the Regulations Governing Water Recreation Activities, which regulate scuba diving and other activities ranging from jet skiing to rafting. The most pertinent articles of the regulations for divers concern safety and environmental protection. In the area of safety, the regulations require all open-water divers to possess a certificate from a qualified organization and be accompanied by a person who is familiar with the chosen dive site. Meanwhile, dive operators must provide certified instructors to accompany customers engaging in scuba activities, among numerous other regulations.

Environmental protection measures include bans on spear guns, shooting fish and catching marine animals. “Previously, a lot of scuba divers speared fish for pleasure, but you rarely see that kind of behavior today,” Su says. The 2004 regulations are partly responsible for that change, but rising environmental awareness has also played a role, he says. When Su takes people diving these days, he reminds them to leave wildlife such as fish and turtles undisturbed. “We dive to admire their beauty, not to scare them away,” he says. “After all, that’s what makes diving a sustainable leisure activity, isn’t it?”

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw