Taiwan, a violent place?

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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[quote=“LucyQ”]Here we go - the ‘Taiwan isn’t violent’ myth. Domestic violence is epidemic in this country. Families covering up violence against women and children. I have heard a woman getting beaten and pleading for her life. The police are called, do nothing and he carries on beating her. I have my students tel me that daddy hits mommy.
Do not tell me that ‘Taiwan is so safe and so non-violent’ - just because other countries have the courage to confront violence in the home and denounce it - doesn’t mean Taiwan is better.
Continuing to promote the myth that Taiwan is ‘non-violent’ is unhelpful and untrue.[/quote]

Being American, my definition of violence depends on the question “will I be stabbed if I walk down the wrong alley?” You’re right to point out the serious problem of domestic violence. Few people think about this when talking about crime/violence – but that’s probably because it doesn’t affect tourists and short-term stays.

202

[quote=“chelseadagger”]http://www.hngn.com/articles/37917/20140804/samsung-smartphone-stops-bullet-saves-man-s-life-taiwan.htm

This is why I buy Samsung and not HTC. :wink:[/quote]

Uh, first of all, the bullet went through the guy’s arm.

Whereas

without having to pass through the guy’s arm.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/30/florida_robbery/

If the Samsung had taken a direct hit, I doubt the person would be alive. :slight_smile:

203

http://chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2014/08/12/414685/Police-start.htm

Police start investigations into 2 stranglings of local women

204

taiwan suuuuuure looks peaceful compared to the race riots in missouri, war in the mideast between israelis and palestinians, beheadings by muslims, and antisemitic protests in europe!! just sayin. :bow:

205

[quote=“NonTocareLeTete”]I guess you didn’t see this thread yet: forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtop … 8&t=125544

People write about violent things in forums (and report them on TV, in the newspaper, on the radio and elsewhere on the internet) because they are interesting. People usually don’t write about nothing happening. Therefore, reading any expat forum from anywhere in the world, I imagine it would be pretty easy to get the idea that whatever place they were writing about was fairly violent.

Taiwan’s really safe. I have, however, had more violent incidents happen to me here than I ever did in the states (3 incidents in 5 years vs. 0 incidents in 27 years).
I chalk this up to cultural misunderstandings and people’s relative cruelty to animals in this country (which inspired uncharacteristic angry behavior in myself).

If you read the apple daily news then this small island is on a par with a Central American Republic with a history of coups and military intervention. Thankfully nothing could be further from the truth and pretty much everything written on the honesty of Taiwanese is true. It’s not a violent place but if you look for a fight, don’t expect them to allow you to use them as a punch bag. They will fight back using any means possible and they’ll call their friends just for good measure.

All in all , after 24+ years in Asia, this is the safest place I have lived and that includes a small Alpine village in Switzerland that was inaccessible 5 months of the year.

206

Taiwan is very safe. Most victims know their attackers. If you do fight, as the prev poster said, there are no punches pulled and it will get ugly. Taiwanese don’t, as a rule , fight each other. They may argue but usually not physically fight. But if they do, it is ugly and death is not uncommon. Just dont push them.

207

This has always been a problem in Taiwan and why many business people are very ‘di diao’ here…keep their head down.

tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%8F%B0%E4% … 13214.html

The businessman’s driver (the usual story debts/jealousy etc.) kidnapped him with two accomplices, got money and killed the hostage. They literally call it ‘cashing the cheque’ or ‘ripping the cheque’ in Chinese.

208

What happened was these morons were going to get the money when the bank got suspicious, so they just gave up and offed the hostage. That’s why it’s called “ripping up the check” – you have destroyed the thing of value before being able to exchange it for cash.

Last I heard, the driver had left the country, but one suspect has been caught.

209

[quote=“LucyQ”]Here we go - the ‘Taiwan isn’t violent’ myth. Domestic violence is epidemic in this country. Families covering up violence against women and children. I have heard a woman getting beaten and pleading for her life. The police are called, do nothing and he carries on beating her. I have my students tel me that daddy hits mommy.
Do not tell me that ‘Taiwan is so safe and so non-violent’ - just because other countries have the courage to confront violence in the home and denounce it - doesn’t mean Taiwan is better.
Continuing to promote the myth that Taiwan is ‘non-violent’ is unhelpful and untrue.[/quote]

Domestic violence is the dark, unmentionable part of Taiwanese and many other Asian cultures. Even in the overseas community, I understand that spousal violence is under reported. In addition, the corporal punishment that many overseas Taiwanese and other Asian American parents inflict on their children would get them imprisoned in the West.

Amy Chua isn’t Taiwanese and I certainly don’t know anything about her actual family life. But I can’t help but thin that for many Asian Americans, there is an ugly and brutal part of the Tiger Mom narrative that was omitted.

210

There was a piece on the Apple Daily at the beginning of the summer regarding a Taiwanese family vacationing in the US. The father smacked one of the kids while having a picnic at a national park. Locals called the authorities on him and the children were removed. Bet he had a grand time trying to explain “that’s the way we do it in Taiwan”.

211

Yea, MOFA had to explain to people that American culture does not like smacking kids so to show restraint when vacationing there…

212

These are fundamentally contradictory. Not just in Taiwan, obviously. It’s harder to deal with violence from people you know, especially in cultures where women in particular are socialised to just take it and cover it up.

213

A TW woman killed her husband in his sleep due to repeated abuse from him. She was let off with a light sentence.

So TW women are very much fighting back. Society has changed. TW women are not softies that take punches, nor should they be.

214

Not standard behaviour, and an extreme reaction suggests she felt that she had little other legal recourse or what’s more likely, any other social support in getting away from him safely.

215

True and that should change.

216

[quote=“tommy525”]A TW woman killed her husband in his sleep due to repeated abuse from him. She was let off with a light sentence.

So TW women are very much fighting back. Society has changed. TW women are not softies that take punches, nor should they be.[/quote]

I disagree. The majority of them are “softies”. Of course, there will be a handful of the ones (like my exgf) who won’t take shit from anyone and the slightest bit of disrespect will trigger them into a fit of rage, but in my opinion, most of the women here are more than content with just putting them head down or and pretending it didn’t happen or they will do anything to shy away from any awkward attention. Maybe the most they will do is give you a weak crazy eye in an attempt to seem like she has the nerve to stand up for herself in public, but that is usually accompanied by some soft muttering while turning away from the confrontation. This is not a knock on the “Taiwanese woman”. But its just not “lady-like” to spout off and scream and yell in public and draw unwanted attention to yourself. Some people just dont give a damn, but most do.

217

Is Taiwan safe?

Depends what you compare it to. compared to your local gated community where everyone knows each other and holds weekly neighborhood safety meetings? Probably not. Compared to Compton? Iraq? The projects in NY? Its all relative and it all depends on what you think is considered safe. If you’re talking about husbands beating their wives or arguments that get out of hand in households, that stuff can (and does) happen anywhere–even in your rich neighborhood gated communities. Like Hokwongwei said, my definition of “safe” means I can carry on with my daily routine and not have to worry about someone running up behind me and sticking their shank in my back. When was the last time you heard of a drive by shooting in Taiwan? When was the last time you even heard a gunshot? People get shot and robbed on a daily basis in parts of the world and when one rogue kid brain farts and attacks people on the MRT and that gets talked about as the most violent crime thats happened in Taipei in a while,

I don’t see drug dealers loitering around every corner. Dito for hookers. You don’t see kids holding ak47’s patrolling their neighborhood. You don’t see gangs shooting each other and hitting innocent bystanders with random gunfire. I don’t think I ever have to worry about someone walking into my supermarket with a bomb strapped to their chest on a suicide mission. I don’t worry about ever getting kidnapped and held for ransom. Granted, there are a few crimes that happen here and there, but if you look at other places that have these things going on every day…I’d say Taiwan is pretty safe. There are plenty of other places to live in this world that are widely considered a lot less safe than Taiwan.

218

I hear fireworks a lot… they can sound like gunshots sometime. In fact whenever someone hears gunshots they assume it’s firework.

I think someone said Taiwan is only second to Singapore in terms of safety from crime. Now if you’re involved in the mafia, that’s a totally different matter.

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[quote=“Leftywang81”][quote=“tommy525”]A TW woman killed her husband in his sleep due to repeated abuse from him. She was let off with a light sentence.

So TW women are very much fighting back. Society has changed. TW women are not softies that take punches, nor should they be.[/quote]

I disagree. The majority of them are “softies”. Of course, there will be a handful of the ones (like my exgf) who won’t take shit from anyone and the slightest bit of disrespect will trigger them into a fit of rage, but in my opinion, most of the women here are more than content with just putting them head down or and pretending it didn’t happen or they will do anything to shy away from any awkward attention. Maybe the most they will do is give you a weak crazy eye in an attempt to seem like she has the nerve to stand up for herself in public, but that is usually accompanied by some soft muttering while turning away from the confrontation. This is not a knock on the “Taiwanese woman”. But its just not “lady-like” to spout off and scream and yell in public and draw unwanted attention to yourself. Some people just dont give a damn, but most do.[/quote]

I wouldn’t define Taiwanese women as softies. When they are born, they are viewed as “mistakes”, not of the same value as a male heir. They have to justify their existence by being overachievers, whether in beauty or brains. If they have a brother, they will have to cater to him hand and foot, and watch the family resources go to him. Their parents will leave them out of inheritance to pamper the male baby. If they marry, they are considered out of the family. If they divorce, the family will not help them keep their children. So, under such conditions, of dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t, you have those reactions. The “I do not care” and must plunge on or the “I do not care and give up”.

Regarding their relationship to children, well, depends on the marriage. Motherhood is a labor of love and if you do not love the hubby but marry because of social/family pressure, that affects the situation. Then there are women who simply decide not to have kids… and those that happen by accident. Mostly, it is family pressure. Since she is a woman, she is not smart enough/good enough to raise her own kids, must defer to her elders/male relatives.

Honestly, the things you see here regarding kids make your hair stand punk style. Last night, a moron of Olympic proportions left his 3 year old in the car, alone, while he tended to other businesses. The car’s brakes gave in and then the vehicle plunged on by itself into another car. The father did not notice. A nearby store owner rescued the frightened kid, gave him some fried rice. dad finally showed up and was more concerned about the car than the kid, busy making phone calls. Cops fined him only for the car accident. He took the kid and left in the same car. In the ol country, a 4th world hellhole, he would have never seen his kid again. Does Taiwan do not have the legal figure of child endangerment? :fume:

220

Oe of my relatives by marriage had an unfortunate similar instance. He had lived here for about 20 years and married another Taiwanese immigrant, had two kids and lived in a nice house in the suburbs ith a good job. I dont think he s particularly violent by Taiwanese standards and generally seemed like a good guy . . . But like so many taiwanese parents he carried the corporal punishment thing too far and was still smacking his kids around when they were 15 or 16 (sigh, I was actually 17 the last time my parents struck me). And, of course, one of his kids complained to the teacher, who called the guidanc counselor, who called the po po . . . He was arrested and charged and the next thing I know his wife was calling around the family looking for a good defense lawyer (boy was that an akward conversation . . .). I think he got off with a very light sentence and didnt lose custody, but it certainly changed his perspective. While I dont know exactly what he did, based on his wifes description it didnt sound particulalry different from what many Taiwanese parents do.

Another relative (who is WSR) mentioned that when she was in grade school in Taiwan (the 60s), all the kids were especially afraid of the BSR teachers as they had a reputation for being comparatively quick to resort to corporal punishment. This same relative also noted that she thought most WSR parents didn`t strike their kids and that it was much more common among BSR families. I’m skeptical (doesnt correspond with my own experience) but wonder if anyone has ever heard something similar.