Is taking photos prohibited at airports of Taiwan except those in Taipei?

Although I had not seen that exception to Taiwan, I had previously read that photographing airports is prohibited and nearly always avoid taking photos in airports but I see people do it often and there are plenty of photos of airports around.

One of the few times I took photos in an airport was in Panama and I was stopped after taking 3-4 photos. They then took me to a room where I got interrogated by 4 guards who asked me questions, asked to see the photos before sending me onward with a warning saying that it is not allowed.

Since then, if I see something worth capturing, I wait for a security personal to pass and ask them permission. They say no more than half the time. I imagine the legality is potentially different in every country, so I do not think there is a single answer to your question, but generally airports are considered sensitive areas. I know of a few people who got stopped taking pictures in the direction of an airport while not in the airport too, even if it was a civilian airport exclusively.

I cannot give a personal account because I have only been to Taoyuan airport (where nobody objected to me taking pictures—in fact, nobody ever objected to me taking pictures at airports even with a DSLR camera).

However, I will note that Kaohsiung airport, the second-largest airport in Taiwan, advertises its observation deck for plane spotting and other activities on its website. It specifically mentions plane spotting as a reason for its existence and its terms of use (same page) do not mention any prohibition on taking pictures (while it does mention, e.g. no vandalism, no smoking, no loud noises, no betel nut chewing).

In addition, I found no mention of photography, pictures or photo (outside photocopy machines); neither by searching the entire site by the search bar supplied, nor in the FAQ section.

This leads me to strongly assume that the claim is not generally true.

That said, it is always a good idea to abide by the following:

• adhere to any signs that prohibit photography. Try to look out for them so that their presence doesn’t surprise you
• do not take pictures of security installations, like the passenger screening facilities
• do not take pictures of security personnel
• do not take pictures of any military installations or equipment or personnel (applies especially if the civilian airport is adjacent to a military air base)
• do not take pictures of customs or immigration
• exercise common sense when judging whether it is permissible to photograph other travellers

That is not truth, visit TPE on google maps, there's thousands of pictures upload by visitors. And at least, I never heard anyone get into trouble because taking photos in air port :)

update

ok, you can also check other air port in Taiwan,

• RMQ (Taichung)
• KHH (Kaohsiung)
• or TSA (the air port actual locate in Taipei)

I think making life log is totally fine, but you will need a request for commercial photographing (Apply for a film permit)

You can also send the request on line, but I can't find it in English version... link