Resident's committee and the guy in charge

I speak minimal Mandarin and can’t read much more than a traffic sign, but I’m aware that many communities in Taiwan have a local kind of leader or head of a sort of resident’s committee, and that each such head takes charge of various things for a year. If anyone has an English language resource explaining it, I’d be grateful.

I’ve become aware of a dispute over the recently elected head of the committee that includes the building I rent an apartment in. In short, he’s trying to change a lot of things and trying to introduce new rules that make no sense. One example: we have security guys in the lobby who are allowed half an hour for their lunch and dinner, which they eat at the desk, and meanwhile, of course, still take care of whichever business they need to when people come up to them looking for their mail, packages, and so forth. In essence, while they technically get half an hour to themselves, they’re effectively always on duty.

But this new ‘head’ of the local committee has decided, in this particular example, that the security guys shouldn’t get paid for that total of an hour a day if, according to him, they’re ‘not at work’. Further, he’s talked about bringing in a security firm instead, which would be more expensive, and increase the day to day costs for everyone in the building. Yet our lobby staff are well-liked and do an excellent job, and at least one of them has mentioned he’ll probably resign–which would be a terrible shame.

Some further context: this new head has a corporate background, and continually flouts the very regulations he’s in charge of-in particular, always, always wedging a fire door permanently open on his floor, even though he’s been warned not to by the fire department. He seems to be the ‘fire everyone, slash costs, and make everything worse than it was’ type.

Reason for posting; I don’t, as someone renting, have any say in the home owner’s committee, but I wouldn’t mind knowing if there are any regulations pertaining to the removal of such a person should their conduct be seen as failing, or in some respect to be inadequate or unpopular. I’m assuming there must be, if such a person has the capacity to alter wages and hours, and hire and fire staff.

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In Taipei the Taipei Construction Management Office governs such things. Maybe someone will have something more specific, but that would be where to start looking otherwise.

My recommendation would be to start with convince your landlord to join these meetings and try to force them in a better direction. To get your landlord to be interested is about taking your issues you see and turn them into Property value. If you can convince your landlord that these things happening are bad for the property value then he will definitely intervene

Btw, a note, usually it is hard to get somebody who is willing to take up the head of the building committee, so it might be in your case that even the others don’t like the guy too, they might have nobody else who is willing to do it. I don’t know your building of course, but just some background info

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Don’t even think about getting involved in these matters unless you want to see the unpleasant side of Taiwan.

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Especially if OP is only renting, lol.

There is nothing like a person looking for trouble. Dont be surprised that you actually get it