Considering the increasing number of increasingly aggressive gansters, blue truck and taxi drivers in the city I’ve decided to invest in a cannister of mace.
I’d rather flee than fight, but have found mace to do a good job of neutralizing would-be assailants (I come from SA!).
Know where to get the goods?
Mace spray is readily available in Taiwan, but watch out the assailant doesn’t grab you mace and use it to mug you.
Or grab it off you and try to shove the canister up your arse. I’ve seen it happen. Not pretty.
I think I saw some in the camping/outdoor gear shop on Wuchuan West Road, just before the junction with Wenxin.
Agree with the others about caution needed, though, and things here are culturally very different than in S.A. Better here to come out with a string of "paisay"s or "duibuqi"s or if really necessary, run for it.
Although you are concerned about violence here it very rarely involves “outsiders” unless you provoke it. I feel a whole lot safer here, and have witnessed far less random violence, muggings and car crime, than when I was “back home”.
Always best to get out of the conflict zone whenever possible. I definitely agree on that. But of late there’s been a definite upsurge in violence against foreigners - through the grapevine I’ve heard of a half-dozens incidents in the last six weeks.
It’s said you shouldn’t carry a weapon you can’t use correctly. With a decent mace gun I can keep a six foot distance, neutralize the bugger, and hotfoot it like a fox on the hunt. Just gotta be sure I’m upwind! 