Private eyes
A recent editorial (“Meaningless without enforcement,” Nov. 24, page 8) was spot-on and I agree that creating a bunch of regulations that police officers can’t meaningfully enforce is a waste of time. However, the solution is really just a few mouse clicks away.
Inspired by your fantastic article (“Taipei trash informants earn more than NT$1 million,” Sept. 16, page 2) which reported on two men who took videos of people violating the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法) and mailing DVDs of the footage to Taipei City’s Bureau of Environmental Protection to collect cash rewards, I propose the following solution:
Set up a government Web site where activists such as myself can create an account and upload videos of polluters, YouTube-style. These could be grouped under different headings, such as smoky scooters, drivers who idle for more than three minutes, red-light runners, riders without helmets, license plates with an expired inspection sticker and every other issue that activists are trying to stamp out. Note that these are all offenses for which a person can be fined and that frequently go unpunished.
I believe the trash informants’ project should be institutionalized so that more people abide by the letter of the law, activists and interested parties have a better way to participate, and income opportunities could be created for the disadvantaged. Heck, with all the smoky scooters in Taipei, even the guy selling The Big Issue on the street corner could make a killing doing this.
While riding my bicycle, I regularly use my camera to videotape smoky scooters and people who idle for longer than the recently mandated three minute limit while talking on their cellphones. With such a Web site, I could log in, enter the license plate number of the offending vehicle, date, time and location of the incident, and upload the video showing the violation. Officials at government bureaus responsible for enforcing these rules would subsequently approve each submission and assess an appropriate fine.
This would all be set up in an open and transparent manner, with members of the public able to enter their license plate number to see if anyone has reported them breaking any traffic rules. Inspectors could then run checks on each plate as they do an annual inspection to “dig up dirt” on each vehicle and encourage the owner to pay outstanding fines under threat of having their vehicle impounded. Once the fines are paid, the videos and data would be removed from the site.
Some might say: “What about my privacy?” and I would reply: “STFU. You are operating a potentially deadly vehicle on a public road that my taxes help pay for.” Taiwan is either a country that follows the rule of law, or it’s not. Helmets are the law, and a red light means stop. Violators should be prosecuted.”
Readers might think that my position on this issue is extreme, but I am tired of dodging red-light-running cars and scooters every day, whether cycling or walking. For drivers of smoky scooters, if you honestly can’t afford to get a new spark plug and an oil change, contact my organization, Idle-Free Taipei, and we’ll scrape together the NT$350 or so to help you out.
Torch Pratt
Yonghe
A series of strong earthquakes in Hualien County not only caused severe damage in Taiwan, but also revealed that China’s power has permeated everywhere. A Taiwanese woman posted on the Internet that she found clips of the earthquake — which were recorded by the security camera in her home — on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu. It is spine-chilling that the problem might be because the security camera was manufactured in China. China has widely collected information, infringed upon public privacy and raised information security threats through various social media platforms, as well as telecommunication and security equipment. Several former TikTok employees revealed
For the incoming Administration of President-elect William Lai (賴清德), successfully deterring a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or invasion of democratic Taiwan over his four-year term would be a clear victory. But it could also be a curse, because during those four years the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will grow far stronger. As such, increased vigilance in Washington and Taipei will be needed to ensure that already multiplying CCP threat trends don’t overwhelm Taiwan, the United States, and their democratic allies. One CCP attempt to overwhelm was announced on April 19, 2024, namely that the PLA had erred in combining major missions
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday last week held a debate over the constitutionality of the death penalty. The issue of the retention or abolition of the death penalty often involves the conceptual aspects of social values and even religious philosophies. As it is written in The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, the government’s policy is often a choice between the lesser of two evils or the greater of two goods, and it is impossible to be perfect. Today’s controversy over the retention or abolition of the death penalty can be viewed in the same way. UNACCEPTABLE Viewing the
At the same time as more than 30 military aircraft were detected near Taiwan — one of the highest daily incursions this year — with some flying as close as 37 nautical miles (69kms) from the northern city of Keelung, China announced a limited and selected relaxation of restrictions on Taiwanese agricultural exports and tourism, upon receiving a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) delegation led by KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁). This demonstrates the two-faced gimmick of China’s “united front” strategy. Despite the strongest earthquake to hit the nation in 25 years striking Hualien on April 3, which caused