The last time I checked, it was illegal to take your vehicle and park it like this, in a non-parking zone, on a sidewalk. In my opinion, this "citizen" is screwing the good folk of Taipei times two by parking on the sidewalk. First, these scooters won't be able to get out; they are seriously hemmed in. Second, no pedestrian can slide through the three centimeters his (her?) car has left from bumper to scooter taillight. This parking job forces every pedestrian that comes this way out into the street. I took this shot at around 6:45 p.m. So the street was, it goes without saying, bulging with evening traffic.
I showed some of my colleagues this shot today. A couple of them, in unison, said: "Whoa! That guy will get a fine! Or maybe he'll (she'll) be fast enough to avoid a fine." I don't think getting a fine is what this driver should be concerned about. He (She) should be concerned that he (she) is inconveniencing other people. Actually, enough of the gender neutral. I'm pretty sure it was a guy, because some lunkhead came out of a dry cleaner's and stared at me when I was taking the shot on my phone; he had a "What the f%$#? That's my car" vibe.
*****
On a different note, I think I'll do a Weekly Links:
1. http://gotmahmojo.livejournal.com/161864.html
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On a different note, I think I'll do a Weekly Links:
1. http://gotmahmojo.livejournal.com/161864.html
2. This article is almost five years old. It's still worth a read. Warning: it's disturbing: http://dissidentvoice.org/Mar06/OBrien23.htm
3. The Writing Baron has a great piece on the bullying of out-groups in Taiwan: http://thewritingbaron.com/train-to-nowhere.
3. The Writing Baron has a great piece on the bullying of out-groups in Taiwan: http://thewritingbaron.com/train-to-nowhere.
6 comments:
inconveniencing other people is not something that the average local person thinks about in Taiwan. if that were true, people would step aside when passing, but they don't - they just crowd the space and jostle to get through.
The fact that your colleagues seemed somewhat surprise when this is something that one could see at any time of any given day is interesting.
They were more concerned than surprised. They were on his side; they also live in Hsinchu and drive everywhere. In fact, I should have said "associates" and not "colleagues."
I am going to try to use a new, local Taiwanese Web site via which citizens and residents can post such illegal behavior online. It's called Xiao Min Zhan Chu Lai. They have an iPhone app too.
This might be a good way, after 20 years of aggravation in Taiwan, to do something about these sort of annoyances.
Not sure if that will change anything. My experience there is that the urban tiger > pedestrian.
Pretty effective info, thanks for the post.
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