Some overstayers just don’t / can’t get their act together to visa-run and stay legal. From then on it becomes a game of cat and mouse, which has to end some day. It’s fairly close to a victimless crime for me, so I can understand the lack of remorse. But don’t think she can argue too much with 2 months inside.
Hell? Nope. Uncomfortable? You bet.
I’m wondering what kind of fine she thinks would be appropriate but I guess it wouldn’t be anything like her earning potential during two years in Taiwan. From a practical standpoint the government will want to deter illegal overstaying. A large enough fine wouldn’t be practical.
Well, they do say that 1% of us are psychopaths.
I think that we got one here. 
I agree, which is why I find it abhorrent when other foreigners rail on people that have been busted here for whatever offence, guilty or otherwise. The truth of the matter is that you have fark all rights as a foreigner in Taiwan, and to see other foreigners gleefully slam someone caught up in such a maelstrom is nothing short of insane. Other people getting busted don’t make you look bad, it simply highlights the lack of rights you can expect should you ever be accused of transgressing the law.
Now you see, that’s where I think the voice of Forumosa could better act as a uniting factor for the rights of foreigners in Taiwan. A collective voice against an intolerable legal predicament. Since I;m not about to return to my native Australia anytime soon, I have to accept that wherever I am is my home. I would like my home to accept me as one of its desired residents. Oddly enough, while I loathe HK on so many levels, it does at least offer considerable more equality for new and original residents. I can, for example, expect to be a permanent resident here simply by living here for 7 years and paying taxes. Have the option to take on credit cards and mortgages, and to get a drivers’ license which lasts 10 years, etc. I also certainly don’t expect the courts here to discriminate against me because I’m a whitey, although I certainly have some issues with the sorts of sentences they hand out, and the shocking reality that there is a 87% conviction rate here, putting it on par with North Korea and China. FWIW, I am fairly confident Taiwan conviction rates are similarly and stupidly high. Say what you will about the Canto or Taiwan cops, but i am absolutely sure they are not right even 50% of the time!
HG
This story comes as absolutely no surprise to me at all. I had a housemate who got busted for overstaying his visa and ended up in such a detention centre for 56 days. In fact, the dates were so close, at first, I thought it was about him! Maybe it actually was. He claimed, after he got out, that he had written a book. Maybe that is his story in a highly modified form!
I know this girl. Not sure why they hide her identity, but I won’t reveal it just in case. Shocked to read what actually happened to her. Can’t wait for the next instalment!
I haven’t mentioned this here before, but I overstayed. I payed the fine and had to get clearance from the tax department.
I asked how long I would be banned for, and the FAP said 1 year. It was actually 5.
Rates in the top 3 dumbest things I’ve done.
What were the other 2?
Coming to Taiwan to begin with? Joining Forumosa?
Eating mulpitte (the Saffers know what that is).
Swerving my BMX down the road till I wiped out and took half my face off.
Are the eating mulpitte and BMX stack related, as in on the same night?
I shudder to think. Mercifully I drank that stuff, then rode a motorcycle a long distance and survived with no incident except some temporary blindness the next day.
HG
Mmm, datura: [strike]good[/strike] full-on stuff, spoke to a poster of Karl Marx for hours. Mildly relieved by smoking shed loads of cigarettes.
I got mine from a tree in the garden of a suburban public hospital.
I would never do that again, but I noticed that tree bloomed, flowered and delivered for at least ten years thereafter.
HG
Edit: I really wish you’d recorded your conversation with Marx!
I have known a few people in Taiwan who overstayed over ten years.
They paid the fine and got out.
Did this woman get sent down because she had no cash to get off the island?
Datura… horribly poisonous. It will fcuk you up. And it grows throughout Taiwan.
I made tea with that stuff once but in the end I was too scared to drink it.
As many posters have already expressed, it will be difficult for M to get a lot of sympathy for her story because of her weak admission of guilt and her arguing with what should be the appropriate punishment. It’s just immature.
It’s unfortunate, though. Her depiction of life inside could have been a good start to a valuable discussion on what could be improved in the system, bring some attention to the issue, etc.
But this way the attention is drawn to her character and the rest is lost.
And FWIW, I don’t think she’s Eastern European, though. I might be wrong, she could be an exception, but that’s just not a point of view of someone who stems from an oppressive regime. This kind of prison ordeal would be nothing to complain about for them. Yes, she would be a younger generation, but this kind of mentality gets passed down and the countries in this region still carry a lot of that baggage. Her indignant POV is more consistent with someone who was brought up in a democracy, knows her rights and expects to be treated humanely.
Speaking of prisons and inhumane treatment. Has anyone seen Louis Theroux’ Miami Mega Jail documentary? I couldn’t watch all of it, it was too depressing (it’s a jail, we’re talking about people who haven’t been convicted yet, they could be innocent). But I do recommend it. Well, any of his documentaries really.
A friend of mine is a Foreign Service Officer for the US…
She told me if somebody fucks up in the traveled-to country they either get deported or jailed.
If you have no money to leave, the US govt will give you a loan to get on a plane.
If you’re put in jail, a US FSO will come and tell you your rights in that host country.
They (the USFSO) will make sure you are not abused and your rights in that country are respected and you are tried in a timely manner.
Other than that, it’s “You’re on your own bitch.”
Staying for two years over… she’s lucky she didn’t pull that stunt in China.
Man. I’d hate to stay here sober.
Separate incidents. Both cost me a couple days in hospital though.