What happened? Anybody see this news on TV? The bloke looked harmless, and spoke Chinese [fluently]. Even said he supported DPP and President Chen, in Mandarin. Who was he, and where did he come from?
Canadian Christopher Roberts, 32, arrived on a flight from Hong Kong. The customs computer showed he was barred from entering Taiwan until March 2007 for having overstayed his visa once for more than a year. He had also taught at an unregistered buxiban in Tainan before.
The guy told customs the man on the blacklist was someone else with the same name, and escaped while the customs were looking for a picture of the blacklisted man.
He was caught while trying to board a cab, and then put on a flight back to Hong Kong.
thanks, enzo. the Liberty Times had a map on page 3 today that shows his arrival,his running to cab and his arrest in handcuffs. That was definitely a bad move on his part! WHAT was he thinking?
Yes, yes, his girlfriend was waiting for him. LOVE Conquers All.
He should just buy her a ticket to HK now and they can laugh about it all.
{on the TV news, he was in a good mood, in handcuffs, smiling at airport police and they seemed to be enjoying the show too, and it seemed that at the end, it was just another âday in the life of CKS airport policeâ â even the cops were smiling at the end. ]
Clearly a nutjob. They were right to send him back. 
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Quite apart from obviously being an idiot, this bloke has (allegedly) committed the far more heinous crime of leaving large unpaid bar tabs in many pubs around Tainan. Plus heâs wearing a Chelski shirt - what more needs to be said?
By the way, I didnât think his Chinese was all that hot. âTypicalâ foreigner pronunciation (i.e. ignoring the tones) and bad syntax in the bit I saw on TV. Just another loser making the rest of us look bad. Didnât really help his case by mocking the local police force for their inability to catch him (odd, as he was wearing cuffs at the time :loco:). I canât wait until my father-in-law-to-be hears about this one and I have to listen to another âyou foreignersâŚâ rant. :fume:
Yup, thatâs him. Front page of Liberty TImes national newspaper today. yes, definitely, another funny 4inner story for the locals to remember. did you know him or know of him? how did you know he had unpaid bar tabs in Tainan pubs? was he notorious there?
Funny though, while all the local national Chinese language papers had a story about him today, even Apple Daily, the three English newspapers completely ignored this story.
At least he could of done is to look a bit dignified in front of the cameras. :s
Not only is he a loser but he comes off looking like a Spanky.
If I ever get busted I want my picture in the paper to look like this:
They didnât ignore the story, it will be in the sidebar on Sunday or Monday. 
TT has more importantstories to cover,like what does Chen Shui Bien think about the only person in Taiwan that publicly supports him.
I knew of him - I had seen him in passing a few times in Tainan. Ask Du-Mei or Jim at the Armory or Steve at Willyâs about unpaid bar tabs.
By the way, I didnât think his Chinese was all that hot. âTypicalâ foreigner pronunciation (i.e. ignoring the tones) and bad syntax in the bit I saw on TV. Just another loser making the rest of us look bad. Didnât really help his case by mocking the local police force for their inability to catch him (odd, as he was wearing cuffs at the time :loco:). I canât wait until my father-in-law-to-be hears about this one and I have to listen to another âyou foreignersâŚâ rant. :fume:
Pretty much agree with your summation. Iâve already had it mentioned to me this morning at the traditional market.
Stupid git.
What is a âsidebarâ? Can you explain. The story will be in a side bar? What does that mean? Never heard that term beforeâŚ
Maybe it was all a paid promotional thing for FLY EMIRATES, the airline that obviously paid him to do this publicity stunt (see t-shirt)⌠wonder how much he got paid for that one day assignment?
Yeah, I noticed he made the common Engnese (opposite of Chinglish?) mistake of using âruguoâ to mean âwhetherâ.
They didnât ignore the story, it will be in the sidebar on Sunday or Monday
What is a âsidebarâ? Can you explain. The story will be in a side bar? What does that mean? Never heard that term beforeâŚ
When you read the paper, the small short stories on the side.
Oh, those things. Thanks. I always called them ânews briefsâ but I like sidebars better. Thanks. Maybe tomorrowâs papers.
Cola -
LOLâŚYou might have something there!
I do know that Emirates is heavily promoting itself in the Pac Rim area right now.
Also looking for ground support, Captains and counter crew for new port allocations.
Guerilla marketing. Worth at least a NT$10,000 payday for the guy. Huge free PR for FLY EMIR.
Ooh! Thatâs good! So the message could be, fly Emirates for your visa run because we simply donât bother checking your visa status? Airlines can cop a fine for transporting passengers who donât have a valid visa.
Any in the Tainan possie know this guy?
As for the dude reflecting poorly on foreigners in Taiwan, I can appreciate people will raise it with you but as upstanding members of the community it really should not be a concern. It wasnât you after all. Thatâs always been my take. I donât buy that perennial guests and best behavious stuff. So many here have staked such a vast slice of their lives in Taiwan and I donât see why they should have to tippie toe around the place for eternity.
The problem, as always, lies in the minds of the xenophobes. I mean, if I was to automatically assume all Chinese are foreigners in my native Australia I could actually be sued. I do understand the complexities in Taiwan but we should aim for higher, not always assume a lower position.
HG
Right!
All my drinking is going on Chrisâs tab this weekend.
I think that you find this thinking in the newbies, as the sages and oldies are too busy going about their lives to actually care what the Taiwanese think.
Yea, and from Chewycorns recent post, it seems as if âthoseâ xenophobes are in places that do have an impact on us, i.e. the government. When they start to realize how much we are and can be an economic asset, then they will come around. :s