Taiwan does have a drug problem. China has a massive drug problem (I didn’t write China in my previous post - my bad.)
yes really. i personally know many chinese people who came to the us. poor. many are students i went to school with. they eventually got a green card and then brought their families over. the u.s. has a lottery based system not restricted on income/wealth. sure, if you’re wealthy that might help as you might be able to get short cuts. but u.s. immigration is not based on wealth. period.
There is less of a cultural acceptance to illegal drugs in Asia. Most people would never even experiment with illegal drugs, but that doesn’t mean that there are not drug problems here either.
However, if I was to compare with where I am with Taiwan does not really have a drug problem. It’s just not in your face with junkies and petty theft everywhere. There are not concentrated areas of drug dependency. It also has less alcohol abuse, especially among young people.
The illegal drugs of choice here would be ecstasy and speed. Hash is smoked too but if you get caught you are doing jail-time. I guess most of the drugs are imported from SEA and China. They always have the drug dogs out on flights from Shenzhen!
The proof is in the pudding, and I’m willing to put up with the harsh restrictions on soft drugs if that keeps down hard drugs. I’m not sure that it does, but I don’t see the need to change yet.
[quote=“forealz”][quote=“archylgp”]
Really? Good luck getting a green card if you’re a poor Chinese person in the States…
[/quote]
yes really. i personally know many chinese people who came to the us. poor. many are students I went to school with. they eventually got a green card. the u.s. has a lottery based system not restricted on income/wealth. sure, if you’re wealthy that might help as you might be able to get short cuts. but u.s. immigration is not based on wealth. period.[/quote]
Another thing to think about, what kind of person leaves their extended family behind and moves to another country for a better life…Usually the highly motivated ones. These people are more likely to succeed and instill good values in their children. This is another factor. I’m not saying they’re all rich is the only factor. These things are complex and saying it’s cultural is too simple and ignores the fact that drugs have been a part of Chinese culture for a long, long time…
[quote=“forealz”][quote=“archylgp”]
Really? Good luck getting a green card if you’re a poor Chinese person in the States…
[/quote]
yes really. i personally know many chinese people who came to the us. poor. many are students I went to school with. they eventually got a green card. the u.s. has a lottery based system not restricted on income/wealth. sure, if you’re wealthy that might help as you might be able to get short cuts. but u.s. immigration is not based on wealth. period.[/quote]
That’s just not true, people with money can buy their way in.
[quote=“headhonchoII”]There is less of a cultural acceptance to illegal drugs in Asia. Most people would never even experiment with illegal drugs, but that doesn’t mean that there are not drug problems here either.
However, if I was to compare with where I am with Taiwan does not really have a drug problem. It’s just not in your face with junkies and petty theft everywhere. There are not concentrated areas of drug dependency. It also has less alcohol abuse, especially among young people.
The illegal drugs of choice here would be ecstasy and speed. Hash is smoked too but if you get caught you are doing jail-time. I guess most of the drugs are imported from SEA and China. They always have the drug dogs out on flights from Shenzhen!
The proof is in the pudding, and I’m willing to put up with the harsh restrictions on soft drugs if that keeps down hard drugs. I’m not sure that it does, but I don’t see the need to change yet.[/quote]
I’m tempted to start digging up articles online (in Chinese) but I should do other things with my typhoon day. It’s not in your face, though, because the police don’t let it spill onto the streets like they do in the west.
Taiwan doesn’t really have a drug problem compared to most countries. It’s there, but it’s not a major issue for society in the same way as other places.
[quote=“archylgp”][quote=“headhonchoII”]There is less of a cultural acceptance to illegal drugs in Asia. Most people would never even experiment with illegal drugs, but that doesn’t mean that there are not drug problems here either.
However, if I was to compare with where I am with Taiwan does not really have a drug problem. It’s just not in your face with junkies and petty theft everywhere. There are not concentrated areas of drug dependency. It also has less alcohol abuse, especially among young people.
The illegal drugs of choice here would be ecstasy and speed. Hash is smoked too but if you get caught you are doing jail-time. I guess most of the drugs are imported from SEA and China. They always have the drug dogs out on flights from Shenzhen!
The proof is in the pudding, and I’m willing to put up with the harsh restrictions on soft drugs if that keeps down hard drugs. I’m not sure that it does, but I don’t see the need to change yet.[/quote]
I’m tempted to start digging up articles online (in Chinese) but I should do other things with my typhoon day. It’s not in your face, though, because the police don’t let it spill onto the streets like they do in the west.[/quote]
I’ve got an example from last month. It was on the front page of the Apple Daily. The police busted into 1 KTV with dogs. They took a bunch of people to jail, both customers and the ‘‘KTV ladies’’ due to possession of hardcore drugs (ecstasy). This was just one KTV, by the way…
[quote=“headhonchoII”]There is less of a cultural acceptance to illegal drugs in Asia. Most people would never even experiment with illegal drugs, but that doesn’t mean that there are not drug problems here either.
However, if I was to compare with where I am with Taiwan does not really have a drug problem. It’s just not in your face with junkies and petty theft everywhere. There are not concentrated areas of drug dependency. It also has less alcohol abuse, especially among young people.
The illegal drugs of choice here would be ecstasy and speed. Hash is smoked too but if you get caught you are doing jail-time. I guess most of the drugs are imported from SEA and China. They always have the drug dogs out on flights from Shenzhen!
The proof is in the pudding, and I’m willing to put up with the harsh restrictions on soft drugs if that keeps down hard drugs. I’m not sure that it does, but I don’t see the need to change yet.[/quote]
finally an answer that i agree with. thank you!! yes, i’m from nyc and also lived in los angeles, san diego, now bay area. i’ve personally walked thru neighborhoods skid-row type areas in each city populated with drug addicts, crackheads, drunks, homeless, etc. everyday you read about drug related murders and crimes and criminal/gang activities, etc. it’s scary! and sad. and it makes me really worried about our society. yet when i went to taiwan, i traveled all around the country and just havent seen neighborhoods like that and heard about such problems. it makes me think taiwan doesnt really have a drug problem like we have here in the states and it makes me wonder why? what is it about taiwanese/asian society, culture, etc. that makes them less prevalent to drug problems than other countries? why does taiwan/taiwan govt. have been so much more successful at fighting drug use? do taiwanese/asians just naturally not like to use illegal drugs? are they less inclined to develop addiction problems?
[quote=“headhonchoII”][quote=“forealz”][quote=“archylgp”]
Really? Good luck getting a green card if you’re a poor Chinese person in the States…
[/quote]
yes really. i personally know many chinese people who came to the us. poor. many are students I went to school with. they eventually got a green card. the u.s. has a lottery based system not restricted on income/wealth. sure, if you’re wealthy that might help as you might be able to get short cuts. but u.s. immigration is not based on wealth. period.[/quote]
That’s just not true, people with money can buy their way in.[/quote]
yes, i agree, i said money helps. but archylgp seemed to be saying that all people wanting to immigrate to the u.s. need to be wealthy, which isnt true at all.
In Japan the Yakuza completely control the drug market. The government turns a blind eye to them importing and selling “soft” drugs (marijuana, amphetamines, ecstasy) on the proviso that they don’t deal the stronger more addictive stuff (cocaine, crack, heroin). Anyone selling drugs outside of this system will be brutally murdered, which acts as a pretty good deterrent.
With the culture of gangsters and handbao giving, I’d imagine the situation could be similar in Taiwan.
[quote=“archylgp”][quote=“archylgp”]
I’ve got an example from last month. It was on the front page of the Apple Daily. The police busted into 1 KTV with dogs. They took a bunch of people to jail, both customers and the ‘‘KTV ladies’’ due to possession of hardcore drugs (ecstasy). This was just one KTV, by the way…[/quote][/quote]
yea yea i read about stories like that in taipei times, etc. but i dont think ecstasy - altho illegal - is considered a hardcore drug.
[quote=“forealz”][quote=“archylgp”][quote=“archylgp”]
I’ve got an example from last month. It was on the front page of the Apple Daily. The police busted into 1 KTV with dogs. They took a bunch of people to jail, both customers and the ‘‘KTV ladies’’ due to possession of hardcore drugs (ecstasy). This was just one KTV, by the way…[/quote][/quote]
yea yea I read about stories like that in taipei times, etc. but I don’t think ecstasy - altho illegal - is considered a hardcore drug.[/quote]
lol – then I’m done here 
By the way, though, government stat: 80% of crimes that put people in jail in Taiwan are drug related. deptcrc.ccu.edu.tw/index.php/news/showNews/90 I’m out now.
The working ethic of North Asian people keeps them on the straight and narrow for the most part. It basically boils down to look after yourself and your family , keep the head down and work hard, don’t question authority, and get an education. Finally making money is glorious.
Doing illegal drugs doesn’t help with these goals, it would be a pointless endeavor. Dependency on others is not encouraged. Idleness is also discouraged and impractical since there is no social welfare to speak of.
The other reasons might be historical. The opium drug pushing and Opium wars of the British in China was a disgrace and still remembered by the governments in the region. Of course that didn’t stop the KMT in the golden triangle and North Koreans dealing in drugs but that was to foreigners for cash so was deemed okay. Then you had authoritarian regimes which although restrictive of personal freedoms also used the death sentence as an effective deterrent to involvement in hard drugs.
very logical answers, headhoncho. thank you!
have you guys in taiwan heard about this? the crime has been attributed to a new kind of LSD:
Miami Police Shoot, Kill Man Eating Another Man’s Face
miami.cbslocal.com/2012/05/26/mi … ad-1-hurt/
hearing about such crap scares the bejezus out of me. i wish whatever it is in taiwan that helps the taiwanese stay off drugs works for us here in the states. i think western society like the entertainment industry glorifies drug use - and violence - as well. so much rampant displays of drugs, violence, booze, etc. in movies/tv/video games nowadays. i know i sound like some right-wing republican - which i am far from being - but it’s true. thank god i dont have kids cuz i would be so worried about sheltering them. there’s just something nice about taiwan/asian culture that seems so innocent, like how they dont even like to show drugs and violence and kissing and sex scenes in movies let alone tv.
I am not aware of any of this being censored in Taiwan. Maybe some nudity in movies on TV is censored, but as far as I know movies in theaters and DVDs are uncensored. Local movies even contain violence and sex. You can even buy pornography here. Maybe you are thinking of Malaysia.
I am not aware of any of this being censored in Taiwan. Maybe some nudity in movies on TV is censored, but as far as I know movies in theaters and DVDs are uncensored. Local movies even contain violence and sex. You can even buy pornography here. Maybe you are thinking of Malaysia.[/quote]
im not talking pornography. you compare local taiwanese-made tv shows and movies to american/western ones and you see a huge difference in display of sex, drugs and violence. you cannot even compare.
Party drugs are a problem among the young and hip. K tamin and Amphetamine more so then extacy.
Party drugs are a problem among the young and hip. K tamin and Amphetamine more so then extacy.
Unfortunately if you see the most popular magazines and papers in Taiwan, and their gory and graphic pictures of murders and accidents and sex pests, you may change your mind!
But TV has less sex and violence, that’s true.