Hi,
I’m in an internet cafe on Shida Road. Five policemen just came in and checked my ARC. It makes me sad to see them taking two foreigners out of the door with them.
What happens to these people, anyway? And if I didn’t happen to have my ARC on me, how much hell would I have to go through?
Godspped, you two sad souls. Hope you get it sorted out.
I guess they’ll have to go home and get them and maybe pay some sort of fine. It’s actually an offense to go out without your ID. You should always keep your ARC or passport (or photocopies) on your person.
And police are often checking internet cafs at night, as many delinquents are caught and sent home during this time.
There has been a lot of very bad press on internet cafs in the past, because of fighting and delinquency and that was the reason that they are now more often frequented by the local bobbies. I won’t blame them, they are actually doing a proper job if they are sending people home without IDs, good on them!
On a sad note though, my Indonesian friend was stopped having gone downstairs in the dead of night to get something from 7-11 and was harassed by the Taiwanese pigs. He was taken to a police station and was forced into having his head shaven for fun by the local police. He turned up at Chinese Bushiban the day after where I saw his tufty hair after pulling his cap off his head to see what he was hiding. He was very upset by the whole ordeal. And that was in Taipei about 8+ years ago.
i have a copy tatooed on my arse.[/quote]
So that is why nobody checks your ID. 
Right. Taiwanese people carry photocopies of their ID cards. I found out why the hard way when a pickpocket took my wallet, ARC and all. Getting a replacement is a hassle and you have to pay for it, and you lose an important record of your stay in Taiwan.
I never carry mine. A smile is my ARC. 
i never carry mine.
I just tell them I didn’t want to lose it. that actually saved me one time, because i surely would have been brought to the station and booked on charges of… never mind. long story about me and a Miss Wu.
so in short, never carry your ID. you get away with more shit that way.
[quote=“theposter”]i never carry mine.
I just tell them I didn’t want to lose it. that actually saved me one time, because i surely would have been brought to the station and booked on charges of… never mind. long story about me and a Miss Wu.
so in short, never carry your ID. you get away with more shit that way.[/quote]
I agree, and not carrying my ID or not producing it has saved me from at least a dozen traffic violations over the years, including driving without a licence. I must say though that I adhere to road regulations almost all of the time and that the time I have been stopped were mostly due to unclear signage or because I went to the police myself after someone has crashed into me.
Carrying I.D is an Orwellian procedure that only helps the police prosecute you or charge you when they feel the need. Stay free and don’t lay down for them. On the same note though remember to always respect others and own up when you know you are wrong. We shouldn’t need I.D. cards and such if we are just more respectful and honest.
Stay free, don’t lay down, but be prepared to pay through the nose, as the two Internet cafe blokes found out to their cost. 
civil disobedience is the key to keeping a balance between government powers and the powers of the people. I am always going to be against I.D. cards for the same reason that millions died fighting in the second WW. The Jews didn’t deserve having to show I.D. cards and arm bands and I sure as hell don’t either. If anyone wants to know who I am they can ask my name and I’ll most likely tell them.
Better not be moving back to Blighty any time soon, then. It’s coming there too, by the sound of things.
Anyway, the OP wanted to know what the deal was with the two people being lifted at the cafe, so I told him.
Protest, civil disobedience, whatever. But be aware that it might be inconvenient and expensive and that your stance will almost certainly go right over the heads of Taipei’s finest.
Personally, I feel far far free-er to live my life on my terms here than I ever did in the UK, despite carrying an ARC card.
Stay free, don’t lay down, but be prepared to pay through the nose, as the two Internet cafe blokes found out to their cost. [/quote]
Wait, were these guys actually charged with something? If yes, What?
I don’t carry mine because a) I don’t have a wallet and the card gets all crumply in my pocket and b) because I don’t think it’s necessary and c) I always forget the damn thing.
mostly b though
It’s small card. Why all the drama? Think of it this way. Carrying it helps be able to identify you when you have an accident and can’t talk. Or it’s good to show that you are legal in the country so you have a right to access certain things, like setting up a telephone, or getting a phone, or getting work.
Freedom lies in the mind, not on some piece of paper.
Or as Eleanor Roosevelt said best:
Charged? I have no idea. But it IS an offence to not have your ID with you. Can’t remember what the fine is. Paltry, I expect, but nevertheless, I bet those two would have preferred to continue playing counterstrike or looking at BigJugHoochieMama’s.com than helping the police with their inquiries.
Charged? I have no idea. But it IS an offence to not have your ID with you. Can’t remember what the fine is. Paltry, I expect, but nevertheless, I bet those two would have preferred to continue playing counterstrike or looking at BigJugHoochieMama’s.com than helping the police with their inquiries.[/quote]
Oh, I dunno. I once had a nice ride in a BMW poleecee car in Taichung. In the front seat no less. It was fun. 
that page is a guilty pleasure of mine too 
[quote=“Namahottie”]
Freedom lies in the mind, not on some piece of paper. [/quote]
Hmmm depends on what you mean by that old bean, if you mean that we can only be free by carrying a piece of paper, then that’s a bit of a contradiction. If you mean that the piece of paper shouldn’t mean much as we are free if we so wish to think it, then that’s a bit of a contradiction too as far as I see things. The enforcement to carry an I.D. card at all times is a direct limitation on freedom and means that we always have to be answerable to a government whose rules we can make no change to by voting as we are not allowed to vote. That means that foriegners carrying I.D. cards are little more than slaves to a system beyond our control, and enforced by police that don’t have to answer to our wishes as foreigners. I am a slave in Taiwan. I pay taxes don’t get to vote and can be exited from the island should they so wish to make it so at any time without much cause to complain. I’m a slave, and so are many of you.
You are not a slave 
But there are two things very wrong with this law.
1- it is not well publicized, nor is it really enforced, so it can be used as a pretense to harrass and detain pretty much anyone for any reason.
2- it forces me to carry a passport at all times, increasingly the odds that this extremely important, expensive document will be lost, stolen or damaged.
sulavaca is right. we are slaves here. even if you’re married, you can be KICKED OUT of taiwan. the law doesn’t look as highly upon your marriage as it does between to locals.
just think: you guys with wife and kids could be kicked off the island, leaving them here. the TW government couldn’t give a shit.
as far as i know, going to jail in TW = deportation afterwards.