Congratulations Mayor Ma on instigating another regulation to improve the quality of life of Taiwan citizens. Unfortunately, as SARS, driving on the roads, noisy neighbours, and construction noise all show, the average citizen doesn’t give a damn about anyone else here.
[quote]
New fine in Taipei for drips from room air conditioning sets
Taipei will start a campaign on July 1 to rid itself of water drips from ubiquitous room air conditioning sets, Mayor Ma Ying-jeou announced yesterday.
“We’ve got to do something about that summer nuisance,” Ma said.[/quote]
I figure the water dripping from an air conditioner is less harmful than the acid rain here because of real pollution.
Probably what happened is that Ma got driveled on during a press tour. That guy has a sense of revenge.
But actually this law is typical Taiwanese:
(1) Make a law that instantly makes virtually everyone an offender overnight. Make sure it will cost the economy a billion in retrofits to actually become compliant.
(2) Encourage children, parents, neighbors, friends, co-workers to rat on their children, parents, neighbors, friends and co-workers, thus adding the already psychotic nature of the blackmail vs. blackmail culture in Taiwan. Since few will make the retrofits, the game will be to rat on your neighbor before they rat on you.
(3) Enforce selectively.
(4) Ignore the law after everyone gets tired of it and moves on to something else like “fining taxis that aren’t yellow enough”.
Hey, you’ve gotta admit, while obviously leaning towards the side of the moronic, it is quite an ingenious way of generating more cash for the government. Just wait for the fine or anyone caught breathing and inadvertently releasing CO2 into the air.
Half the fine, eh? Hmmmm, Jeff you wanted some revenge on somebody didn’t you?
Perhaps I have new profession in the making. For those lazy sods out there drop me a line i’ll file the papers and give you 5% of the half as a finders fee.
See you later I’m heading down to visit the mercedes dealer.
Actually, I remember reading about a meeting that Mayor Ma had with a “select” group of foreign representatives, to discuss foreigner recommendations for the beautification of Taipei. According to the newspaper report, one of their chief concerns was the dripping water from air-conditioner units…
I also remember thinking, “farking morons…”.
However, if the report was true, then who are we to blame but ourselves?
Yes, but you need to consider what kind of foreigners Ma surrounds himself with. I doubt that they are long-timers. Heck, me too! When I first came to Taiwan in 1995, the dripping water thing really annoyed me. Now? Well, I’m more concerned about other critical things like getting bank accounts without restrictions, driver’s licences for six years, not be discriminated in retail stores because I am a foreigner. Ma would only surround himself with people who would give him superficial suggestions for the casual tourist and short-term Shitda student. Ma isn’t concerned about long-timers’ perspective.
That’s pretty pathetic if that’s the worse thing about Taipei he can think of. I have never been nearly killed or scared out of my wits, or had my rights otherwise abused by a leaky A/C.
a retarded, but as mentioned above, typically Taiwanese law…
but at least people in government seem to give a damn about Taipei… it seems like all of the governments energy and resources go exclusively to improving Taipei city, whilst the rest of the island could go to hell in a handbag for all they care… like when Ma Ying Jiu started his campaign to rid Taipei of the “evils” of prostitution and gambling, so every brothel and gambling joint in Taipei just moved to Taichung and carried on business as usual… also here in Taichung, the supposed new super mayor came into power, claiming he would clean up the city… organised an iron fisted crackdown on turning left on a left turn light, riding without a helmet, and other “soft” traffic offenses whilst completely ignoring the real issues of violent crime, burglary, gangsterism, atrocious double and triple parking and running red lights… then did bugger all to improve the city in any way, until at the beginning of this year he announced that he would rid Taichung of crime, or quit… obviously neither have been forthcoming… :?
yep, Tapei has it good in many ways…
how about the law that makes it a crime to bring pornography into Taiwan… when there’s a whorehouse on every other corner and they broadcast soft porn on the government TV stations everyday…
A political figure in Ma’s position should be thinking of how to do the most good for the greatest number of people. Aircon condensation dripping is an arcane “problem.”
The frightening thing is that unless Ma is actually a mental retard, he put forth this new measure because he really thought it was a problem and really thought that people were concerned about this (over other matters in the city).
YIKES!
couldn’t tell you which which channel… they keep rearranging our cable service and i spend my life chasing BBC world from channel to channel :? …
but it’s there… the soft porn i mean… usually after midnight, there’s the ubiquitous unprepossessing binglang girls tarting about to KTV tunes… and loads of others even more risque… i was fairly amazed there were so many, and some of it is stuff i wouldn’t want my kid to be watching :shock: …
[quote=“MaPoDoFu”][quote=“chodofu”]There are whorehouses on every other corner? Do thier air conditioners drip?
Chou[/quote]
No, just their customers.[/quote]
Yeeeeewwww, thats nasty and much too early in the morning for such atrocious commentary.
What next?! Stupid!! Very very stupid!!!
Do thier air conditioners drip?