Good on you. I liked That.
I was drivind a NSR before and got it painted. Got pulled over because they ran my licence and noticed the color did not match. I was on my way back from Kenting to Kaohsiung. Ended up being escorted to the police station cause they could not locate the serial number on the engine. 2 Hours later we were waiting on a mecanic off duty(it was a Sunday). I got kinda inpatient and started off removing the gas tank and the fairing myself to find the damn number as I knew I had seen it before somewhere while working on the bike. Finally I found it and they foud out my bike was legal. The problem was that earlier while looking hard to find the serial number, the cops were leaning my bike on the double stand too much I guess and they snapped my double stand. After the whole ordeal I asked them to pay me for the stand but they quickly gave me a choice between a broken stand or a ticket violation for 600nt for having two small lights as screws on my licence plate. The lights were small licence plates screws I bought in a bike store and they only light when I used the brakes. I got angry and started pointing at scooter riders without helmets and at one of the illegal 3 wheels smoking bikes. The reply to that was that they were only dealing with one infraction at the time. Then I told the man to write up the ticket but he would not do that or pay for my broken stand. I carried on with asking the cop for his name and he refused to give it to me. I called my boss at my school to translate for me and when I got her on the phone she said if he gives you his name, he will aslo give you a ticket for 600nt. So I accepted angrily and went on saying how I would tell everyone I knew about this. He gave me his name yet no ticket. I took off from the police station reving my bike to 10 000rpm in a tough guy display. I think now that it’s been months and I’m over it that the man just felt bad about stopping over a guy with a legal bike, breaking his stand and he just let me go. It was illegal and against the law but I did benefit. After all the law says if you change the color of your bike you must notify registration. Yes cops are bad in Taiwan but foreigners should stop complaining about it a bit maybe because I know a lot more stories about us getting away with it on the count of language barrier when we break the law on the road than anything else. And if you think driving is bad here. Don’t do it or go back where you came from. Every country has its ups and downs. This is Taiwan. I love it!
Your right, Leo. In Chiayi, the police rarely hassle foreigners because they think most of us can’t speak Chinese. I’ve gotten away with a few minor violations (turning right on reds, etc.) because the cops didn’t want to have to deal with me. When the police are pulling over everyone else, they always just wave me through. 
Sweet…
Police in Taiwan… I have been at a KTV in Yonghe with a whole bunch of on duty Police officers… They were horrible singers, but tried to improve their voices with liberal amounts of beer…
You guys seem to have a sweet deal in the south. Here in Taoyuan county, there seem to be a few with foreigner hatred, I have heard from police friends. I have noticed the spread of police who hate foreigners around here. I guess all it takes is a few stories and word of mouth for spreading some hatred. On the other hand, I guess some stories and experiences here brings us to hatred as well.
I have noticed through my travels around TW, police seem to be different in different places. Perhaps I’ve been living in the wrong place for too long. In Taipei, they actually do their job more than here. My problem is that I wish they did more, and not the petty hassles. “To serve and protect”… What they are payed, at a starting wage of 56000 per month and raised to 60000 after 1 year, to do.
Wishful thinking :uhhuh:
I he heard that the original reason for them to be corrupt was that they were underpaid. If the salary levels mentioned by you are correct, then that’s hardly a reason for this any more.
I guess than they will need an independent task force examining nothing but police wrongdoing and corruption hammering away at the problems for a few years before the problems will be rectified.
I can confirm their salaries. I’ve asked a few police about it. Starting salary for rookie cop is 55-60 thousand a month. Roughly double what your average university graduate in Taiwan makes.
That must be inlcuding your mention of bribe taking. The starting salary is NT$ 30,000.
If they were getting 55K starting then everybody would want to be a police officer in Taiwan. Hardly a glamourous job.
However there is a bonus system which rewards police for bookings. Rank also plays a part. My wife’s uncle is a police officer and he makes over 100K per month, but he’s been in the force for a long time.
taken from : bao.uline.net/pd/dir_show.asp?fi … e=3&area=6
“現在警察剛進去的起薪，加上種種津貼，也直逼五萬”
“The starting salary for a policeman, including various allowances, is close to $50,000nt.”
“據本座瞭解，以一位普通警員來說，他們加入警界一年之後，平均薪水大約是四萬多左右，跟一般公務人員差不多，但警員還有「警勤加給」可以領，所以若跟同樣資歷的公務人員相較，一個月可能會多出個八千元左右。”
“From my understanding, a regular police officer averages about $40,000-some a year after joining, similar to what other government employees make. However, they get an extra “police duty” allowance, so their monthly salary is about $8000nt higher in comparision to that of another goverment employee of the same experience.”
As for it being hardly a glamourous job, there is certainly no lack of applicants to police college.
In the year 2004,
3533 applied for 315 spaces in the 4-yr BA program.
2571 appiled for 117 places in the 2-yr Adminastrative Police department.
1219 applied for 80 places in the 2-yr Criminal Police department.
So, though the Taiwanese may not view their police officers as honourable or whatever, it is still quite a desireable job. As is any government position these days in Taiwan. A position as police officer is viewed as a job that pays well, without really having to do too much, I think.
whatever the cops make around here it’s too much… There’s been progress in how laws are enforced in recent years, for sure… although most of it is unfortunately limited to Taipei
It has always been my opinion that if the police ever started strictly enforcing the traffic laws, traffic would come to a complete stop and no one would be able to get anywhere.
Wow, what a great post Plasmatron I hope you don’t mind if I copy it and use it at school.
But what you should have done was sent it to me first. Then I could have posted it in my name. Then we could have watched everyone flame it and make comments of no relation to the actual post’s topic whatsoever…actually most of the posts after yours don’t say anything about your well written post, except for spocks.
A bit crude, yet well written Plastrom. Except I don’t like the tone. Is it me or you think North American(or 3/4 of the rest of the world that follows it’s ideologies)way of living is better? We never let go man…It’s killing us one at the time. Taiwanese can close their eyes on many things they should aknowledge but they also close their eyes to all the pitty hatred WE (I speak for myself)filter and organize and debate and fight about every day. If I had the choice, and I do. I would prefer to close my eyes to the whole circus.At least, I try. I breathe better. Every culture has ups and downs and I would be delighted to read one of those precise, to the point yet passionnate article on how WE(I speak for all my ancestors)live our lives. Because I honestly can not express myself as clearly with such ability to hit the nail on the head as you can. I am French Canadian so this is my second language. But if I could describe the north American way of life so well, I would sure use the same tone you used to describe the Taiwanese way of life. I miss home too dude. Is that what between a rock and a hard place is?
Cheers! :help:
Can you fricking imagine? Paid 100k a month to drive in a circle all day and sign a few check-in sheets. They should just put some blue and red flashy lights on top of taxis. Then the taxis can drive around all day with pretty lights…doing nothing to increase traffic safety. Just like the police 
! It would save the government tons of money.
And speaking of which. Hasn’t anyone ever explained to the police that it would be a lot easier for them to catch drunk drivers, people stealing cars, rapists, vandals…etc. Without the before said offenders being able to see them coming from 2 miles away due to their flashy lights?!? I sware, the police are like 13 year old girls…“Look at me I have pretty flashy lights” (mind you…my scooter does have some pretty flashy lights on it…but that increases visibility, which increases road safety…and well…I just think they’re pretty 
, but then again…I’m not supposed to be sneaking up on criminals. )
In Taoyuan the police drive with their overhead blue and red’s on all the time. I think it’s the equivalent of a taxi having it’s sign light on to say he’s on-duty. They do that in Taipei as well?
P.S. For any Taiwanese readers who haven’t been to western countries. In America and Europe the police only turn on their overhead lights if pulling someone over or if rushing to a crime. Not just to show they are on-duty.
[quote=“Mordeth”]
In Taoyuan the police drive with their overhead blue and red’s on all the time. I think it’s the equivalent of a taxi having it’s sign light on to say he’s on-duty. They do that in Taipei as well?[/quote]It sure does save on paperwork when everyone just stops doing whatever naughty thing it was before the cops arrive… Think of it as the kind of blanket advertising that big corporations do. The Coke sign on the top of a building. It’s not trying to sell you anything right this moment, just remind you, “yep, they have Coke in this country…”
Does this not belong in the other thread ‘Mordeth vs SUVs’ or whatever it was called?
I was just going to warn everyone that Taiwan Cop Month has started. Donations to the police New Year’s red envelope fund are being collected at every other kilometer marker on a freeway near you. There’s an exhibition of radar and laser speed detection technology running concurrently with the fund-raising event…
Be careful out there unless you’re really feeling generous 
I’ve already gotten “what’s coming to me”. It’s an inflated feeling of self-respect and righteousness. And a feeling of pride for being one of the very few not in the majority of people who do nothing.
On an unrealted note, but more in topic with the name of this thread:
A good friend told me about one of her family members who is a police officer. He had a meeting with some of the local gangsters and explained to them that due to some local shootings they needed to catch someone with a gun…to make it look like they were really doing their job. They came to an agreement about the who, when and where. So a couple of weeks later they raided some guys apartment confiscated a few guns (which they probably handed back later) and made a few arrests (which they probably set free later). I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that many of the people getting arrested on TV are set free as soon as the cameras are gone.
So that just goes to show how close the mafia and the police really are…one of the most amazing stories I’ve heard since I’ve been here and from a very reliable source. This is 2nd hand information straight from a family member…she was reluctant to tell me at first, but I got it out of her by acting disintrested.
[quote=“Mordeth”]
I’ve already gotten “what’s coming to me”. [/quote]
Methinks not yet…
[quote=“Mordeth”]a feeling of pride for being one of the very few not in the majority of people who do nothing.
[/quote]After pride, a fall.
[quote]
A good friend told me about one of her family members who is a police officer. He had a meeting with some of the local gangsters and explained to them that due to some local shootings they needed to catch someone with a gun…[/quote]Years ago I knew a guy who had buddies on both sides, and owned a pistol. His cop buddies knew about the pistol, and he was warned to keep it in the house, but they did nothing about it. He was pretty much a nobody, so you can imagine the kind of courtesies that get extended to the gangsters.
Mordeth,
I think you got caught in “The Crime of the Month” sweep. I recently saw a report on local TV of policemen pulling over motorists and motorcyclists that had flashing lights on the license plate, dirty plates so filthy that they were intelligible, and fake numbers on plates modified by black tape example: “3’s” made inti "8"s, also baskets on the rear fenders obstructing the plate and other crimes against humanity.
The month before it was tour busdrivers–which I’m sure the tour companies took care of with hong baos and free access to underage KTV hostesses.
In years past it was overloaded gravel trucks, helmetless riders and fork lifts (All of which are still freely on the roads today)
The Barney Fifes of Taiwan may not keep us safe and are annoying to the majority of working class scooter-commuters but take in account how many traffic offenses you and I have get away with on a regular basis.
I’m in Indonesia on vacation and the cops set up roadblocks specifically looking for westerners to shake down. In comparison the retards in Taiwan don’t seem as bad.
My advice: Spend a little more money on incense at the local Taoist temple praying to the Traffic God. Traffic fines are little shit sandwiches we all have to eat now and again.
this place sure is quiet without Mordeth around…is he still alive?