POLL: Did you worry about crime/safety BEFORE you came to Taiwan

[Marco]

@Charlie_Jack

@Marco

. . . it shall be known that Taiwan is not special in regards to crime. . . .

With all due respect, the above assertion is, well, quite surprising. @Marco, I’m practically a shut-in, a borderline hermit, and even I know about this stuff.

I remember years ago, standing outside one of my neighborhood’s wangka with a Canadian fellow who had been here quite a while and knew his way around, and witnessing him describe the gangster territorial boundaries in the area. It was all Greek to me, and still is, but the mere fact that these boundaries or territories existed in my area was quite an eye-opener for me.

I’ve gotten the powerful impression over the years that it’s pretty much a commonplace thing here.

One of the most reputation-ruining sights Taiwan can offer is a gangster funeral. Attended by hundreds of black-shirted young men and senior politicians from both ideological camps, these events prove that democratic accountability and social standards don’t mean the same thing to all people.
. . .

In the course of mourning Chen, the sight of a string of celebrities, ne’er-do-well politicians and retired security agency officials lining up to pay their dues played itself out. Of the former, pop singer Jay Chou (周杰倫) was the most conspicuous. . .
. . .

But this is not a partisan cancer. Even more despicable is the presence on the honorary list of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus convener Ko Chien-ming (柯建銘), who warrants expulsion from the party. We’re not holding our breath.

–“Editorial: Gangsters, gangsters everywhere,” Taipei Times, November 9, 2007

@maoman

I have my Taiwanese “Big Brother” on speed dial.

@Mucha_Man

Wang is Speaker of the House, and might have been running for president if not for Ma. Does the significance of the second highest ranking member of the KMT attending the funeral of a gangster sink in with you?

The scowling face of Lo Fu Chu, alleged godfather of one of Taiwan’s most notorious crime syndicates, appears regularly on the television news here. He once was accused of ordering a critic stripped to his shorts and left in a locked dog cage on the outskirts of town.

. . .

The fact that the future of the country may rest with a character such as Lo–who once allegedly tried to strangle a fellow lawmaker for interrupting him–is causing a great deal of hand-wringing in a country already worried about whether its young democracy will survive the bruising fight over Chen’s presidency.

–Philip P. Pan, “A Strange Political Bedfellow,” Washington Post, November 7, 2000

Suspected gangster and independent legislator Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) was elected yesterday as one of three conveners of the legislature’s Judicial Committee (司法委員會), despite widespread protests.

–Joyce Huang, “Suspected gangster elected to judicial committee,” Taipei Times , September 22, 2000

Funeral stripteases may have been born when the country’s mafia got into the mortuary business. Since the Mafia already controlled many strip clubs, combining the two meant more money for organized crime.

–Kathy Benjamin, Funerals to Die For: The Craziest, Creepiest, and Most Bizarre Funeral Traditions and Practices Ever

The cable industry in Taiwan was essentially established by heidao figures. Not until 1991 was it legitimized by authorities issuing licenses. Before then, even though there was strong demand for cable service, only gang and jiaotou figures were daring enough to get involved in this illegal business.

–Chin Ko-lin, Heijin: Organized Crime, Business, and Politics in Taiwan

Edited to add one more for good measure, from 2005:

Intimidation and assault - advice required

So what is remarkable about what you posted?

Is it that gangs exist in Taiwan? No, it can’t be that. Gangs exist in our own western countries too.

Is it that gangs poorly attempt to delineate territorial claims that are meaningless to the general populace? No. It can’t be that, they do that in our western countries too.

Is it that 20 years ago, things were worse? Hmmm… 20 years ago things were definitely worse in our western countries too. I distinctly remember downtowns being the worst parts of the cities nationwide, full of gun violence, shootings, drugs, gang-related crime. Car dependent suburbia was seen as desirable to be away from that. Shops, empty and boarded up, graffiti and homelessness particularly easy to spot. If you were poor and able to rent/buy, downtown was your only option. Big cities were considered cesspools of violence.

Is it that corruption exists in Taiwan at similar levels to western countries? No it can’t be that, corruption plagues western countries in similar amounts to Taiwan.

@Charlie_Jack

–Kathy Benjamin, Funerals to Die For: The Craziest, Creepiest, and Most Bizarre Funeral Traditions and Practices Ever

The cable industry in Taiwan was essentially established by heidao figures. Not until 1991 was it legitimized by authorities issuing licenses. Before then, even though there was strong demand for cable service, only gang and jiaotou figures were daring enough to get involved in this illegal business.

Now we’re going back to thirty years? That’s a huge stretch.

Cable cartels are not ‘crimes’ in western countries because we legalised their monopolies. They might as well be crimes for their anticompetitive corrupt lobbying behaviour.