Written in response to a news report. Facts and law may have changed since the publication date.
Mothers at a postpartum center in Kaohsiung’s Renwu District were reportedly asked to leave on October 23, according to Public Television Service’s October 24 report. The operator attributed its temporary suspension to staff shortages and said it would address care transfers, contracts and refunds.
The city’s health bureau said the center was not registered as a postpartum nursing institution. The operator also acknowledged funding difficulties. For English-speaking families arranging postpartum recovery in Taiwan, the story raises questions about the provider’s status, prepaid fees and whether a promised payment will arrive.
The facility’s status and the booking contract
Nursing Personnel Act Article 17 requires a nursing institution to obtain approval, registration and an opening permit from the local authority. Families paying for professional nursing services have reason to compare the provider named in their contract with the facility’s registered status.
The mandatory terms for postpartum nursing institutions and confinement centers, effective since September 2, 2010 and still linked in the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s current listing, expressly cover both kinds of provider. Confinement centers that do not provide nursing services are included. The ministry’s explanation of the two categories confirms that scope; the contract terms do not authorize unregistered nursing activities.
These are binding contract requirements. Under Consumer Protection Act Article 17, a mandatory provision remains part of a standard-form contract even if the operator leaves it out. A conflicting standard-form term is invalid. The signed pages alone may therefore give an incomplete account of the family’s rights.
When an admitted stay cannot continue
Item 9 of the mandatory terms addresses interruption after admission. If a reason attributable to the operator prevents continued performance, the consumer may terminate the contract. The operator must return excess charges. Additional damages are calculated as a percentage of the fees for unused days after termination. That percentage must be at least 10%. A consumer who proves other resulting loss may also claim further damages.
A family’s payment receipts, agreed daily fees and departure date help establish the refund and damages amounts. The 10% minimum concerns the damages percentage applied to unused-days fees, rather than a flat percentage of every payment made.
Where the inability to continue is not attributable to the operator, item 9 provides a different rule. The consumer may terminate; the deposit counts toward the price of services already supplied, extra charges are prohibited, and any excess payment must be returned. This paragraph does not provide the same additional damages.
Responsibility still needs to be established. The staffing explanation, the funding problem and the typhoon on the night of the suspension all bear on that question. The news report does not decide which contractual rule applies to each resident. These provisions concern a stay that has begun. Cancellation before admission has separate rules.
From a refund promise to an amount owed
For a family communicating in English while the booking documents are in Chinese, both the contract and the messages about promised services help explain what was purchased. Admission and checkout records show when the stay began and ended. Receipts for replacement accommodation or care may support a claim for additional loss, subject to proof of its connection to the interruption.
Payment timing matters too. PTS reported that the operator intended to negotiate individual arrangements because of its funding difficulties. Any proposed refund agreement therefore needs to be read alongside the unused-days calculation and any request to give up further claims. A promise to discuss refunds leaves both the amount and the payment date to be resolved.
Illustration of a fictional postpartum rest room; it does not depict the center in the report.
Sources
- Public Television Service, October 24: Kaohsiung postpartum center’s suspension and registration status
- Nursing Personnel Act, Article 17
- Consumer Protection Act, Article 17
- Mandatory terms for postpartum nursing institutions and confinement centers, including item 9
- Executive Yuan: announcement and commencement of the mandatory terms
- Ministry of Health and Welfare: current mandatory-contract-terms listing
- Ministry of Health and Welfare: explanation of nursing institutions and confinement centers, August 11, 2013
General information on Taiwan postpartum-care contracts, checked October 28, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do Taiwan’s mandatory postpartum contract terms cover a confinement center without nursing-institution registration?
- The announced terms expressly cover both postpartum nursing institutions and confinement centers. Nursing registration and the obligations under a covered standard-form consumer contract are separate questions; the terms do not establish that an operator’s nursing activities are authorized.
- What can a family claim if the operator cannot continue an admitted stay?
- If continued performance is impossible for a reason attributable to the operator, item 9 permits termination, requires repayment of excess charges and provides additional damages based on unused-days fees. The prescribed percentage must be at least 10%. Other resulting loss may be claimed separately if proved. The actual facts and contract determine whether this branch applies.
- Does a suspension during a typhoon automatically qualify for the additional damages?
- No. The cause of the interruption must be examined. Item 9 has a separate rule for inability to continue that is not attributable to the operator: the deposit is credited toward services already supplied, no extra charges may be added, and excess payments must be returned. That paragraph does not provide the same additional damages.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice on any individual matter.
