A university professor and a woman living in Taichung have found out that dealing with noisy neighbors isn't easy and calling in the cops won't solve the problem either.
The professor recently bought an apartment close to the university where he teaches and was very happy with his choice until a couple of weeks ago, when a new neighbor moved in.
clicking sound
From day one, the professor could hear a clicking sound coming from the apartment above. He didn't think much of it in the beginning, but the noise continued day after day -- from early morning to late evening -- and he could no longer get the sleep he needed.
When he complained to the janitor, he was told that maybe the noise came from the woman's preference for wearing high heels around the house.
The professor then complained to the building's management committee and the police, but was told they couldn't do anything because she was in the privacy of her own home.
In another case, a single woman was greatly disturbed by the loud groans and bed banging against the wall separating her apartment from the one occupied by a pair of university students.
When she complained to borough chief and the police about the day-and-night disturbance, she received the same answer as the professor: There's not much we can do about it.
Taichung City Environmental Protection Bureau officials said that under the Noise Control Act (噪音管制法), law enforcement officials can only legally put a stop to noises transmitted through mechanical equipment, such as karaoke machines.
In short, bureau officials were helpless when it came to high heels and loud lovemaking.
compromise
The officials added that the only solution was to ask the building's management committee to step in and work out a compromise.
Meanwhile, police said they could only take action against people disturbing the peace at night based on the Social Order Maintenance Act (
Tien Hui-chi (田輝勣) director of the Ear, Nose and Throat Department at Linhsin Hospital in Taichung said that in the psychology of hearing, noise is not a matter of decibels, but rather of contrast.
disturbance
An unexpected sound in an otherwise quiet environment -- and not knowing whether it will persist -- causes the greatest disturbance, he said.
The human brain can gradually adapt to constant noises, but the sound created by clicking high heels is irregular, he said. It is also impossible to determine whether the sound will continue, and this attracts a lot of brain attention, he added.
In the case of the woman who is fond of wearing high heels around the house, Tien suggested asking the woman to put carpet on her flooring or take her shoes off, adding that the professor could also consider wearing ear plugs to sleep.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
RSS