Bit of a problem = understatement

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You’ve got a major problem on your hands. I would think that rapprochement is not possible at this poitn, especially as you’re dealing with several different parties here. A really big dog (Tibetan mastiff), might do the trick, but they eat small children for breakfast. Or could, if hungry and pissed off enough. Move as soon as possible, preferably to an apartment complex with regulated parking spaces. Life’s too short - you don’t need this kind of aggravation. :expressionless:

I’d suggest escalating. Caltrops under their tires, sugar in their gas tanks. Spill a little skunk oil on their front bumpers if you can get it. Get a friend to do the dirty work so they can’t pin it on you. Hey, ever see “Gone in 60 Seconds”? That trick with the flaming rag stuffed in the gastank fill tube is spiffy.

If they leave a window open, you could snowflake 'em – drop a bag of E tabs under their front seat, then anonymously tip off the cops and watch the fun. :smiley: Just don’t get caught!

blocking a driveway is illegal parking, no? this guy owns the street? don’t just move, hassle your landlord and the local cops until something gives or you HAVE to move. though having already done a number on their car doesn’t help you.

Expensive and difficult, but could you come up with a parking boot on Ebay or something? Granted they would be blocking your driveway for awhile, but they wouldn’t be able to go anywhere either…

I used to have a similar (but not so escalated) problem when I lived on the 1st floor in Taipei. I bought a container of paint in the US that is designed to write on glass (you know, to write “Car for Sale” and stuff like that on your car windows) and brought it back. Bright red stuff. The next time a**hole parked in front of my door, I wrote “Do not park here” in Chinese on his windshield in huge ugly foreigner characters. Next thing I know he’s got the police over because I’ve “vandalized” his car. He looked pretty dumb when it was pointed out to him that a single wipe with a damp cloth would remove the offending paint. Fortunately he was not a tough guy and that was pretty much the end of things, plus I moved not long thereafter for unrelated reasons, but…

Have you talked to your “lin zhang” (the local government guy?) Or is this guy the linzhang??

Be careful there mate, every drop kick in Taiwan seems to know some heavies. Do what Maoman said.

Obviously the space is empty when you drive through it to park your car - so why not park there yourself.

Convert your drive into a pool / swamp / barbeque / bar / betelnut stand/ pay parking for scooters/ etc etc

Life’s too short to let wa*kers like these stress you out.

I agree with the last post: Park on the street in front of your own driveway. Tons of people do it… and it will open up a nice spot in your driveway for you to have a picnic (?!)

i believe the local government guy lives right across the street from me - he also enjoys parking his two cars across the driveway
also, i think he’s the son or cousin or relative of the old man who says he owns the street :? they look the same

i don’t want to get my car scratched up by all the pedestrian traffic - damn those umbrellas

Don’t get confrontational with them. This will only make the situation worse ( wait too late already!!)

People get excited in a confrontation and this solves nothing… Unless you know the local gangster in the area then you will not gain any ground with the “street owner” ( he has dug in already - to him now this is a face thing and somebody telling him how he should manage “his street”)

I would move out… its not like you can reason with these people

The cops here probably are limp dicks on this. They probably don’t want to get involved except making an appearance when called. Anyway, what can they do short of issuing a ticket or arresting someone?

Getting the local area rep (lin zhang) involved may work, but he or she may be slow to get involved. You could be seen as a blow in, short time renter. Would the local area rep who will have to deal with the “street owner” stick his neck out for you? In fact would any of the locals help you? Probably not.

You could always buy a forklift, and simply lift any car out of your way, but then they would accuse you of vandalizing.

I really think you have no choice but to grin and bear it, else move.
Anyway best to avoid confrontation with these people

Cant you call the tow truck company and have the offending car
towed away?

[quote=“panda”]Cant you call the tow truck company and have the offending car
towed away?[/quote]
tried that, no tow truck company wanted to do it

How about locking something to the road so noone except you can park there. It’s theft of public space and damage to the road surface, but hey, this is Taiwan and everyone does it, so it’s ok.

On the other hand, if you and lizhang’s relation both did that outside your respective houses, who would get in trouble and who would be allowed to do it ?

I’m sorry to hear that you are living in Taoyuan AKA the wild west. If you were in Taipei City, I would be much more confident about getting help from the authorities.

Do not vandalize anyone else’s car. People get beaten to death over parking spaces in Taiwan. Don’t risk it. It’s not worth it. You’ve been lucky so far.

Do go see your Lizhang. This will probably not help, but give it a try. Next, find out who your Xiangdai (District Rep) is, and complain there. Next, take your complaint to the Taoyuan County government and complain VERY loudly about how unforeigner-friendly Taoyuan County is. Have your wife call TV stations and newspapers (try Apple Daily).

I think I would give up trying to park my car anywhere nearby if I was going to make an issue of this. If you start pissing people off, and cars get trashed, then how long until yours gets the same treatment?

I have a similar problem at my place, with car owners feeling free to park on the spots reserved for us two-wheelers. I come home late at night to find that I am one of six people being inconvenienced by one selfish wanker. In my case it’s not worth making that big an issue about. I just park in the building super’s space, and he moves it in the morning. I did consider getting pissy about it, but don’t think it will achieve anything positive.

Your problem sounds like it was a bit worse, and now it’s out of hand. How much deposit have you paid on your apartment? Can you sublet for a few months? Whatever the case, I would just get the hell out of dodge before someone gets hurt. It sounds like your wife is teetering on the edge of becoming an axe-wielding maniac, and you would both probably be far better off living elsewhere.

It is not worth all the hassle, really, it’s not. I have had similar experiences and felt the same intense :imp: :imp: :imp: anger. But I know that in Taiwan this sort of thing can really get out of control.

I think it is far better to handle things in a mild mannered Taiwanese style and not the gangster Taiwanese style. Remember, you are on your own there and a foreign devil :wink:.

If these guys have had a few drinks you can bet they’ll be back. What’s more what will happen if they see you out on the street away from your trusty security camera.

Personally, It doesn’t bother me who shows up at my place because the Taiwanese we know and are related to are far more scary than anyone that could show up on our doorstep. If you don’t have this kind of guanxi I think the best thing to do is get out of there because it has already gone too far.

I don’t push anyone, I am damn careful about honking my horn too.

I have the same problem with the buxiban but I don’t resort to attacking cars. Remember, he who escalates things to that level first will be forever wrong, esp. in the eyes of the Taiwanese who are viewing the actions of the foreigner.

A word of advice to all - Don’t push things too far with the locals if you don’t have anyone behind you.

Get all the information you can about that guy who “owns the street”.

I think he seized it along with the KMT, so then send a letter to the DPP. They will help return the public land to the people.

They did get, from the KMT, back several media outlets, but will they ever get things like the KMT headquarters back? When the KMT imposed martial law, they just took things and made them theirs. I think that guy did the same with that road.

We used to have a space down the street that we rented for about 4K per month. Always had trouble with people parking in front. How big of a bunghole do you have to be to do that? Anyway now we rent a space that is about a mile away, but only costs 2.5K, and no problems because it’s in a lot. Since I only drive about once a week, it is well worth not having the hassle.

What I would do is park my car with my tail out into the street. So they can’t park behind without being in the middle of the street. Essentially don’t park all the way up.

Im envisioning this all like the driveways in the states. Just park half up and leave the tail end out. Then they can’t block ya in.

If I got the wrong image, disregard but I think you might get the idea.

Oh yeah, if you want, invest in 4 of those tow truck wheel things. (sorry dont know technical term). They fit around a tire. Lock it down. Then you can crank it slightly lifting the wheel up off the ground. Do it to all 4 tires. These things got wheels of their own. So then ya just push the car out. (Id suggest down the hill or around the corner so they can guess where the f*ck it went but eh…) I’ve seen these things used in parking lots when they wanna move cars around like a puzzle. Or by tow trucks. Lift one end, stick a pair of these wheel things under the other pair and off they go. Main used for rear side lifts, since most front wheels are not free-spinning.

Just a thought. Sux all I can say.

P.S. Buy an aluminum bat, wood breaks. Just in case…