'I am Taiwanese' Czech speaker tells parliament, likely to rile China

Politics International Politics
21

It depends on the unit. If your unit is involved in drills a lot, then you will shoot more than you want to. But the problem is they don’t ever provide ear protection and those things are LOUD. My dad has hearing damage from it.

My unit did not shoot much but when we had to take on guard duty, we had to practice at least once a month… because we carry live ammo during guard duty. And honestly they could do it like Switzerland where people who are under the reserves (basically any male ROC citizen who has served in the army) practice once a month or something at a military range nearby.

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22

If what a friend told me is correct, he was an exchange student in Taiwan before.

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23

If Wikipedia is correct, yes, he was an exchange student in Taiwan

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24

I think things have changed from your fathers time. That’s what my dad and uncles tell me.

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Well what I am telling you is, when I was in the military in 2004, they did not provide any ear protection either. All you could do is stuff toilet paper into your ears. I am not sure why they won’t provide it, ear plugs are not expensive.

26

That’s pretty ridiculous. I always wear ear protection at the range. I’m surprised ex soldiers haven’t sued the government for this. It’s unnecessary to damage people’s ears like that.

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27

It could be because most soldiers don’t shoot enough to damage their ears. But also officers (who probably shoot way more often) get free healthcare for life. So if they had hearing damage, the government will treat it for free…

28

When I came here, I thought that Taiwan would be like Switzerland, with everybody ready to grab their rifle and rush to defend the island. Little did I realize that the KMT was afraid of the guns being turned against them.
In 2018 there were 379 murders in Taiwan. There were 15,498 murders in the USA. The murder rate in Taiwan is 2.3; in the U.S. it’s 5.0 The idea of every taxi-driver and little-blue-truck-driver packing heat is not comforting. (OTOH for Switzerland it’s 0.6, so maybe that “well-regulated militia” idea is worth trying.)

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29

well they are not shy at using baseball bats in traffic incidents its pretty obvious the deaths are going to rack up if that ever happened.

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30

Or they behave more because they know the other guy might have a gun.

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and guns are LOUD. So if some bystander hears shooting, either someone is going to shoot back, or the cops will come really quickly.

Also those taxi drivers can get guns if they wanted to.

32

Taiwan has more crazies than the US. Let’s not export the US’s mass shooting problem to Taiwan.

Someone here recomended that we keep guns at the police station, and release them during wartime.

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33

I am Czech and I can assure that the letter is true :wink: I do not know who translated it, but in Czech language it sounds much more funny.

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34

In English it sounds like the writer is slightly unhinged (the poor grammar and diction doesn’t help - whoever translated it should be fired).

While I like the fact that the Czech Republic is holding up two fingers to China, the language they use to do it is … unpolished.

Sticking to diplomatic protocol would have had a better impact, IMO.

35

This is how the Swiss do it, isn’t it? I agree that it’s a sensible idea. Taiwan’s military service is a joke by all accounts; if they did just teach everyone to shoot straight and kept 20 million guns safely under lock and key, I’m pretty sure it’d have a sobering effect on whichever army might be contemplating putting boots on the ground.

But yeah, we absolutely don’t want every blue-truck driver and smalltime mafia thug being able to buy any weapon he wants from Carrefour. Totally different proposition.

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36

That is wrong. The homicide stats in Taiwan include attempts, but international homicide rate (as per ICPO) only includes dead bodies.

In 2018 the homicide rate in Taiwan was 0.54. US homicide rate has been roughly 10x Taiwan homicide rate for a long time.

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37

I want one with Wang Yi dressed like a clown that says “Rude Clowns.”

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38

Thanks. I was surprised to see it was so high. Knowing how some Taiwanese react, it’s a question of opportunity, not sweet reason.

Yeah, when my second son did his four months conscription I asked him what he was in- tanks? infantry? He said they didn’t allow them to play with guns in case somebody got hurt.

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39

I disagree. It was a perfect response for who we are dealing with.

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40

It was written in a language the Chinese only understands. PC and diplomatic letters would have just seen the trash bin.

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