A thug threatened a foreigner in Taichung with several guns, for no apparent reason other than momentary thrill. The foreigner managed to disarm him. The police conducted a half-hearted, sloppy investigation, as a result of which…well, read the write-up in Michael Turton’s blog:
If some of you have the ear of Taiwanese politicians, then this would be a worthy cause to direct their attention to. Not that there’s much possibility of training / disciplining cops to a professional level, controlling gang culture, or reforming the legal system…
Since the Taiwanese government has excused itself from the task of law enforcement, it would be quite justifiable for vigilante justice ought to be visited against the perpetrator and his gang. I think the police, too, would be fair game.
[quote=“Namahottie”]That gangster should be glad he didn’t pull it on a gansta. Had it been moi, I would have taught him his first English lesson, “bust a cap”…
Spineless “taike” fuckwads. Perhaps the sausage man wanted to keep his sausage.Taichung is the mafia capital of Taiwan and the police are often in cahoots with them. Surely, no one is suprised by such a thing happening. It has happened a lot in the past and will happen again and again.
I wonder if this self defense weapon is legal in Taiwan
A nearby sausage vendor with a clear view of the incident refused to help or intervene.
[/quote]
Spineless “taike” fuckwads. Perhaps the sausage man wanted to keep his sausage.Taichung is the mafia capital of Taiwan and the police are often in cahoots with them. Surely, no one is suprised by such a thing happening. It has happened a lot in the past and will happen again and again[/quote]
Come on, if Taichung is as bad as you believe it is why on earth would a poor local get involved, knowing it put him and his family at risk? Would you risk your family’s safety ratting on the mob for the sake of a stranger?
As for it happening a lot, I don’t know about that. Incidents of violence against foreigners are rare overall, though they get big coverage in the foreign community when they happen. This is shitty but we do tend to get spoiled and soft by the overall very safe conditions in this country.
The problem is as TC identified, the police do nothing. Taiwan is a very safe place to live, but when something rare does happen, you can find yourself on your own.
Come on, if Taichung is as bad as you believe it is why on earth would a poor local get involved, knowing it put him and his family at risk? Would you risk your family’s safety ratting on the mob for the sake of a stranger? [/quote]
Yeah, I agree. Read my second sentence. I call the vendor a spinless prick but then mention that perhaps he wants to keep his sausage.
There have been some pretty nasty attacks in recent years against foreigners, particularly in the South and at places of drink.
It depends on guanxi. But yeah, I agree. Without a kick in the ass from above, they probably won’t bend over backwards to solve the case.
Yes, enforcement is unfortunately only an occasionally-considered option. I’d sure love to see a day when the scooter monkeys and gangsters were actually afraid of the cops.
[quote=“Chewycorns”]Without a kick in the ass from above, they probably won’t bend over backwards to solve the case.[/quote]I’m having trouble picturing that.
Well, we’ve needed some help from the police here as we had some problems with our neighbour, one of many reasons why we moved back to Taipei, but they weren’t all that helpful, understanding, yes, helpful, no.
I actually got jumped by some big chimp a couple of months after I moved here during a night out with some friends. The only problem was that the chimp waited outside the night club and brought a friend, as I was leaving with the girl I was with at the time. Of course the security staff was just as “helpful” in this case, although I guess I was lucky as I got away with a bump on my head. I had aparently offended the guy somehow, because he was a rude obnoxious twat that bumped into me and the girl on the dance floor and as asked him to take it a bit easy, but I guess that’s not the done thing here and it’s reason enough to beat up the waigouren…
Although in saying that, I haven’t had any trouble like that since and after my girlfriend had a real fight with our neighbour and they booth ended up in hospital with scratchmarks, the woman got sent to mental hospital for a couple of months. She mostly behaved after that, but we still got the random banging on the door and shouting at night, so we’re now suffering from post traumatic stress everytime we hear a loud noise :neutral:
But life goes on and we’re not in the same kind of pickle as that poor sod in the story. At least he stood up for what he knew was right. His so called legal council should be put in front of the firing squad :fume:
Those of us who have spent years and years in Taiwan are familiar with the country’s positive attributes. The hardworking people, the beautiful women, low taxes, the island’s natural beauty in places etc. However, I’m often suprised how many apologists underplay the lawlessness that is definitely a noticeable part of the island experience, particularly in the South. How many foreign buxiban owners have had to close down and move shop or leave the island because of threats from competitors in small towns in Taiwan? Just how many people have been attacked by gangs after a night out on the piss? How many foreigners have lost their jobs on faculties or not been offered permanent positions because people didn’t like their politics or country of origin? Whether it’s Southern DPP politicos playing ethnic politics and playing upon the xenophopbia and nativism of many locals or the KMT-heavy police departments maintaining their links with certain gangs, foreigners can often get the “shaft.”
I remember the story of a friend in Tienmu that caught a thief in his house and beat him up before calling the cops. Anything done? Nope. In fact, the thief got off because you aren’t supposed to attack people, even if they break into your house. What kind of joke is that? If you can’t protect your property or your loved ones, and if the cops don’t do anything when a foreigner is attacked, why should overseas businesses consider establishing offices in Taiwan or “beef” up their existing businesses? Singapore, Tokyo, HK, KL etc. don’t have these problems to such a degree. The government really needs to address this IMHO.
If members of the foreign business community become concerned about the state of law and order in Taiwan, and feel that they are under threat and not being adequately protected by the police, this will be communicated to the government through their representative organizations such as the ECCT and AmCham. The government will certainly take this seriously, with the Ministry of the Interior and local government chiefs being instructed to ensure that any valid cause for complaint is addressed.
As far as I’m aware, no such concerns have ever been expressed by those foreign business chambers, because the overwhelming majority of their members consider Taiwan to be a relatively safe place to live, generally a lot safer than their home countries and cities.
If an occasional foreign teacher or student suffers the kind of incident referred to by the OP, it is highly unlikely to elicit any kind of serious response from the authorities unless it becomes a major news story, is taken up by the international media, and threatens to tarnish Taiwan’s image internationally.
If an occasional foreign teacher or student suffers the kind of incident referred to by the OP, it is highly unlikely to elicit any kind of serious response from the authorities unless it becomes a major news story, is taken up by the international media, and threatens to tarnish Taiwan’s image internationally.[/quote]
Your response sounds like the standard government response. What about the Converse Asia executive whose wife was killed in her house back in Taichung in the late 1990s? Omni, have they ever caught the murderers of the wife of the head of Converse Asia? She was killed in 1997 in front of her two children in her house in a gated community with private security guards. This international executive stayed in Taiwan for a year afterwards trying to get the government to do something. Complete waste of time. Somehow someone got in with a truck, stole their big TV etc. etc., murdered her, and the guards and security cameras saw nothing. Must have been ghosts. There were suggestions at the time that the security company and guards (all ex-police) were involved in the murder and being protected by the local cops.
Then there was the teacher who had his dick cut off one night while walking across Tai Da campus. Then there were the 2 teachers riding bicycles down in Taichung or Tainan (one of these cities) who were attacked by a gang…one had his arm cut off. Or the Swedish engineer that had been in Taiwan for three hours. A Taiwanese company picked him up at the airport and they went to a pub down in Taichung/Tainan. Some unknown came running in the pub and caved in his skull with a piece of steel or something and ran out. The Swede was brain damaged. No one was ever caught and the Swede had never even been in Taiwan before.
This has been going on for a long time. Back in 1986 there was a Taiwanese guy who had just come back from grad school in the US. He was walking around in Taipei for several weeks attacking random westerners with bricks and rocks. He went up the the coffeeshop at the Sheraton on Chung Hsiao and threw a brick thru the window at an American businessman who was injured pretty badly. In this instance, the Taiwanese was caught. But this was an exception.
Let’s face it. Chinese police “techniques” have always consisted of picking up someone they want behind bars and then beating the shit out of him or her until he/she confesses. Detective work? Evidence? Just not very important in the whole scheme of things is it? They can’t find their own asses with both hands. They care about drinking tea, playing mahjong, and saving face. And foreigners should know that if they’re setting up shop. The benefits may outweigh these negatives, but one should realize them nevertheless.
Reminds me of the two cops who were told by their station chief to arrest a crocodile that terrorised the locals living near a well-known fishing dam down in the south. .
Cops tried for weeks, but couldn’t find the croc. In fear of receiving a demerit, they caught a gecko, beat it until it admitted it was a croc, and then arrested it.
Five cases in 22 years, Chewey. One of which is an urban legend – is that castration story true? I thought it had been debunked long ago. As Omni says, Taiwan is considered a very safe place to live.
So let’s see some stats, comparing North and South. In your next post you actually cite a lot of cases from up North so that the difference isn’t obvious. But then again this are just selected cases and not necessarily statistically valid.
No argument that law enforcement lacks in Taiwan, but I am not convinced that the South is far worst or that Taiwan in general is an unsafe place for foreigners.
There were suggestions at the time that the security company and guards (all ex-police) were involved in the murder and being protected by the local cops.