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January 22nd, 2012  The Wild East staff
A heads-up for all foreigners who love driving recklessly — Taiwan cops are finally getting savvy
After a spate of recent high-profile cases involving deaths of innocents, Taiwan police are cracking down on drunk driving (or drink-driving if you prefer). This includes reining in foreigners under the influence, who have until recently enjoyed a certain marginalization and therefore immunity in matters of traffic violations. This is mainly due to the customarily poor English-speaking ability of most police officers, who in the past found dealing with foreigners ‘tai mafan‘ – too much trouble.
But things are different now. One British expat who was pulled over on his way home a few weeks ago by an English-proficient cop was asked if he’d take a blood test. “Stupidly I said ‘okay’,” he recounts. “I found out afterwards you can actually refuse to take a blood test. Although the fine for that will likely be stiff” — but not as bad as what turned out to be a DUI in Taiwan.
“I should have asked to go to the loo and drunk a lot of water first”, he commented, as “that would have perhaps brought my blood alcohol count down to an acceptable level.” Police have to allow you to drink some water if you request it.
“I didn’t think about this at the time, because I was so surprised the officer spoke English so well, but I should have just spoken Spanish to him. That would have been my get-out-of-jail-free card in this case,” the foreigner added.
Instead he got a .045 BAC reading, surpassing the .025 limit. Using this online BAC calculator, if he would have put off driving a while or had a couple glasses of water or cup of coffee before heading off, he might have been all right.
True, as one observer points out: “Sure it stings to get a steep fine, but a nasty accident would sting a lot more, take my word on this!”
Another laowai said the bust was probably a strong reminder in the long run, and: “There but for the grace of God go I”!
The driver’s blood count turned out to be .045, and his scooter was immediately confiscated and he had to take a taxi home. The next day he went into the Traffic division in Taipei to find out the fine: 30,000nt (about US$1000) to get his scooter back. Plus 6,000nt (about US$200) to avoid a one-year suspension of driving privileges. After about .060 penalties increase further.
Another expat, who was trying to drive home absolutely hammered and registered .076 BAC, got his scooter confiscated and spent the night in jail sobering up. He is still has a pending court case, where he could be slapped with a 150,000nt (US$5000) maximum penalty.
The fines might be steep to some, but getting intoxicated drivers off the road seems to be a wise strategy, and it’s one that will save lives — including the lives of those who might not feel they are driving under the influence.
January 3rd, 2012  OPINION / By Linda Arrigo (permission to republish; originally here)
The New York Times editorial, “To Save Our Economy, Ditch Taiwan”, has raised my hackles – I always warned Taiwanese independence advocates that the US would sell them out, and here it is literal.
I have not been following the pre-election campaigns, but rather rely on my Taiwanese friends to give their boiled-down version of what’s in the news. More significant than public statements, I think, is the glimpses I have gotten on under-the-table long-term developments, by way of friends and acquaintances in government and business. Recently some Australian visitors to Taiwan asked my opinion, and I hit upon the analogy that Taiwan is a frog that is already in the jaws of a large python, but the python may find it hard to swallow. The “status quo” is of course not static, and has been moving predictably in China’s favor since the mid-1990’s.
At the present moment, several factors may be salient. First, Taiwan’s retired military and security officers have been going to China for at least the last two decades, and some even serve as consultants to China. A while back the Taipei Times made a count of over 400. I believe that China has thorough intelligence on Taiwan independence forces and others in Taiwan, and is poised to crack down when needed. For example, last month local newspapers revealed that a professor at the police academy had copied personal information on Taiwan citizens criticizing China from police files and handed the information over to China. I have also run into numerous Chinese academics coming to Taiwan to “study” the Taiwan independence movement, but what they write generally reports the Kuomintang (KMT) line. As for Taiwan’s capacity for self-defense, to quote a private presentation by one of the correspondents for Jane’s Defence Weekly, Taiwan pays out for the fanciest and shiniest fire engines, but neglects to purchase the hoses. I’d guess that Taiwan’s purchases from the US are in effect protection money, only applicable for the current year.
Second, although China may depend largely on the KMT as its proxy to keep Taiwanese in line, it has been directly influencing KMT and even some current and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) elected officials with monetary rewards delivered through intermediaries. One of my sources on this is a member of the Kaohsiung City Council. For example, Chen Chu, mayor of Kaohsiung, was quickly punished for showing “The Ten Conditions of Love” about the heroine of Xinjiang, Rebiya Kadeer, by such a mechanism. It is likely that China, not merely the KMT, was ultimately behind the 2006 blitz to remove Chen Shui-bian.
Third, freedom of speech has markedly contracted. China has been reportedly buying into more and more Taiwan media. It can easily be observed that Taiwan TV news no longer addresses anything more significant than suicides, traffic accidents, and where to buy the best beef noodles (the reporters get convenient payouts from restaurants reported on). As in Singapore, and as in the new policy enacted by the security agencies and the Government Information Office in 1983 after the 1980 Kaohsiung Incident trials for sedition put egg on their faces in international press, political opponents can be crippled through libel charges. The courts have recently been fining those charged with libel $NT5-6 million, e.g. the fine for a commentator calling Shih Ming-deh (now aligned with Blues and Reds) a “political gigolo”. Within academia, universities have at the request of government officials removed from positions of authority professors who have criticized Ma Ying-jeou’s policies; and academics in general have shifted to self-censorship and avoidance of sensitive social and political topics.
Fourth, the rapid economic development of China has pushed past a tipping point: Native Taiwanese capitalists have in past decades understandably been eager to be free from the predatory KMT government and state corporations, and strongly supported the cause of democracy and Taiwan independence as well. But in the 1990’s they moved labor-intensive activities to China and elsewhere by the necessity of international competition, and now the Chinese market looms large as well. China has both increasingly accommodated the Taiwanese businessmen (e.g. allowing them international schools for their children) and enmeshed and controlled them (selective tax audits, with fines open to negotiation). This is the underlying dynamic, I believe, that even Tsai Ing-wen cannot undo, assuming she is elected.
Many Greens think that Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP has a 50-50 chance of being elected, and I hope that she is, but I would not hold my breath. If so, we might have a new lease on the progress of democracy in Taiwan, at least for the time being. It will also be a crucial test of whether we do in fact have a democratic process in voting; but the long economic strength and patronage network of the KMT, intimidation from China, and intentional idiocy of the media inveigh against putting too much trust in real democratic process.
Linda Gail Arrigo is Assistant Professor at Taipei Medical University. Professor Arrigo has been visiting Taiwan since the 1960s, where she was closely linked to the opposition movement, being deported for her role in the Kaohsiung Incident. Prof. Arrigo is an authority on human rights in Taiwan.
December 13th, 2011  Thanks to those of you who showed us the love, sometimes several times this year! Voting is closed for Taiwanderful’s Best Blog in Taiwan 2011!
Thanks to all of you who voted us Best Blog two times before. : -) You went to this link and made it a tradition. We particularly enjoy Richard Saunders’ travel blog, and Steven Crooks’ site both whom we interviewed this year; A Hungry Girl’s Guide to Taipei for eating in Taiwan, and Prof. Keating’s political blog, as well as Shu Flies and Taiwan Xifu.
At The Wild East Magazine, this year we worked towards filling in the gap in local coverage of news and events affecting the foreign community in Taiwan’s English-language newspapers, including important social events that bring us all closer together. Both the Taipei Times and The China Post cut their Community Compass and Foreign Community pages, respectively. So as a community we have moved online, to this network of sites among friends on the blogosphere.
This year, based on the number of hits, our best stories have focused on one foreigner’s experience in a Taipei Detention Center for overstaying a visa; Jerome Keating’s essay on the ROC’s centennial; a tragic and likely unnecessary demise of a young Taiwanese hiker; and an essay protesting the method of Chinese-language instruction in Taiwan.
Thanks for your regular contributions and feedback, and of course we always welcome your submissions and story ideas.
Best wishes for a safe and adventurous holiday season. And thanks for voting – assiduously!
The Wild East Staff
July 21st, 2011  NICE MOVE, TAIPEI!
Taipei City Government has completed step one of its plan to introduce free public Wi-Fi across the city with the service currently being available in public areas such as libraries, MRT stations and hospitals. Eventually, the plan is to cover all areas, from streets to residential areas. For more information about the service and how you can take advantage of it, take a look at this link.
The Taipei city government has finished the first stage of introducing free public wi-fi throughout Taipei. As of now, the free wireless is limited to public areas such as the MRT, shopping areas, office areas, hospitals, and libraries. However, the network will be expanded to major streets and avenues next and finally city buses and residential areas thereafter.
To access the service, you’ll need to apply for an account, which you can do here. Tourists to the city can use their passports to register at any of the tourism centers across the city. The site also provides handy instructions on how to access the network.
July 18th, 2011  Linda Arrigo takes visitors on tours of a White Terror era graveyard in east Taipei. Photo: Trista di Genova One of the most underappreciated intellectuals around, for decades Linda Gail Arrigo has stuck to her guns and stood up for human rights in Taiwan. She should be thanked for always being a truth-teller, and providing authorities with at times a much-needed cattleprod to their conscience [Note:Other publications have declined to publish this article, as for some Arrigo is a political and controversial figure.]
By Trista di Genova, The Wild East
I heard about Linda Arrigo (艾琳達; pinyin: Ài Líndá) through a friend of mine, who said that Linda lived a quiet life these days — comparatively speaking — with her horde of cats in the mountains ringing the Taipei basin, and seemed somewhat relieved to hear from old friends. 
My interest was also piqued to learn that Linda ran informal tours of a Taipei graveyard where victims of the White Terror era were buried. The graveyard was a few minutes’ walk from Taipei Medical University in east Taipei, where she teaches humanities.
Eventually, I made contact with Linda, took the tour and wrote a story about it for The China Post (my editors who’d lunched with Shih Ming-teh were furious, but that’s another story). For a woman in her 60s, she’s incredibly lively, animated, loquacious and fluent in all matters Taiwan. She reminded me of a bustling auntie, and perhaps because she is of Italian-American heritage she even bears a resemblance to members of my family. Even more beguiling, with her penchant for loud, colorful fashions and ever-ready grin, she’s the spitting image of Janis Joplin. 
In fact, the more I learned about Linda Arrigo the more I was amazed with this person. She first came to Taiwan as a teenager in 1963, aged 16, with her father, a military man. She married a Taiwanese and had one son with him, and after finishing graduate work at Stanford and a stint working in New York, she returned to Taiwan.
“For facts,” she wrote by email, “I was kicked out of Stanford in 1976 with a terminal masters. I got my Ph.D. 1996 finally from SUNY Binghamton. I worked at the Port Authority of NY and NJ to make some money before I finished my Ph.D. — that was 1986-89.”
For the past 40-plus years, Linda Arrigo’s lived through, and been at the nexus of every important event in Taiwan’s modern history: the Kaohsiung Incident, Martial Law and its lifting, the White Terror era, the Lin Family murders; seeking the release of political prisoners and justice for families of 2-28 victims; Lee Teng-hui’s historic presidency; Taiwan’s democratization; human rights and civil rights movements; speaking up for indigenous peoples and their naming and land rights. Read her article on Orchid Island’s aboriginal culture here.
In fact, I’d argue that if anyone is worthy of the title of Taiwan Xi-fu (“Taiwan daughter-in-law”) as well as numerous accolades and peace prizes for her life’s work, it must be Linda Gail Arrigo.
Yet for speaking out and being a much-needed advocate in all of these key areas, she’s often merely labeled and dismissed as ‘an activist’, what is surely a serious underestimation of her extensive contributions to bettering Taiwan’s society.
 With Lynn Miles, she recently edited and co-authored the book “A Borrowed Voice”, a seminal and meaty collection of contemporary articles about Taiwan’s human rights movement. You can’t find it in any Eslite or Caves because they won’t stock it, but this book should be on the shelf of every self-respecting Taiwan-lover, researcher and historian.
In it, a tale of intrigue is told. Taiwan is under martial law, and the KMT is taking extraordinary measures to prevent details getting out of the human rights situation in Taiwan. In this vacuum, intellectuals are arrested, interrogated, followed, harassed, put on trial, maybe even worse, but information is closely guarded and kept from the outside world. Cloak-and-dagger-type operations were necessarily carried out, to communicate to Amnesty International and the outside world in general what was going on in Taiwan. By collaborating with and helping mobilize an underground of human rights sympathizers that spanned from Japan to San Francisco, Lynn Miles and Linda Arrigo were critical players in the silent struggle that eventually managed to get the names of hundreds of political prisoners to the outside world – and ultimately assure their release.
Times sure have changed. Today, people usually know ‘Ai Linda’ for having been the American wife of Shih Ming-teh (施明德; pinyin: Shī Míngdé, a.k.a. Nori), a well-known Taiwanese dissident. Shih survived incarceration on Green Island during martial law, then avoided certain persecution and further prison time under the KMT administration by marrying an American, Linda (conveniently, this allowed her to stay in Taiwan, which she now considered her home). Shih quit the DPP in 2000 and later became the gadfly by leading the ‘Redshirt Rebellion’ in 2006 against then DPP President Chen Shui-bian, calling for Chen’s resignation; incidentally, this is a strange twist in plot, since Chen was Shih’s lawyer after the Kaohsiung Incident. But for this and other actions, Arrigo publicly denounced her fickle, high-profile, now ex-husband ‘a traitor’. They divorced in 1995.
As a result of taking a stand against opposition to Chen, often people mistakenly believe Linda is a staunch defender of the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party). It is true she was involved in its formation, since 1990, although she left in 1996 to join the Green Party that same year. But here again she has been one of the DPP’s most vocal critics, years before Chen’s and the DPP’s corruption scandals pointing out to DPP insiders (and documenting; she’s a gifted writer, notetaker and researcher) some of the Party’s most dangerously corrupt tendencies. Her opinion was sidelined and muffled, as is the tendency, since it is not good for someone’s ‘face’ to have one’s weaknesses laid out so plainly.
As she put it, “The DPP was not unhappy with me until my article “From Democratic Movement to Bourgeois Democracy” was published in Chinese — and that time also there was a lot of criticism of the DPP abandoning its principles.”
Today, most people seem unaware Linda Arrigo has long been an active member of the Green Party — in terms of power a fledgling organization in Taiwan, as it is around the world. She is a highly prized member of the Green Party; she assiduously attends their functions and is feted on her birthday.
In fact, everywhere she goes she seems to create a ‘frisson’. People recognize her on the street — almost every Taiwanese who knows anything at all seems to know who ‘Ai Linda’ is. And whenever she gets into a taxi, the driver almost invariably recognizes her from her voice, since she’s been the guest on many radio programs (taxi drivers listen to these shows religiously as they’re driving around).
“But please take out the stuff about me being a public figure, everybody knows that already, and so what,” she commented after reading a draft of this article, demonstrating the extent of her tendency toward self-effacing modesty.
But I continue in this vein. Once I went with Linda to the opening of a new film about Dr. and Mrs. Tien Chao-min, long-time human rights and pro-Taiwan independence activists. Her Chinese is so fluent she simultaneously translated the entire film to me. Afterwards, when Mrs. Tien addressed the theatergoers and invited questions from the audience, I prodded Linda to say something, anything. “What do I have to say?” she responded, too modestly. I urged her, saying “I’m absolutely sure they would welcome any comments you made, as a show of support.”
When she rose and began speaking, a buzz went through the room and there was even some spontaneous applause. Linda Arrigo is not only recognized, welcomed and well-loved in many freedom-loving circles, her opinion and advice is constantly sought out. Several people afterwards made their way over to her so they could make her acquaintance, or renew an old one.
As a busy professor at TMU, she is probably one of the most accessible instructors I’ve ever met. She often spends hours with both foreign and Taiwanese students, generously giving them her time and advice, individually. She often buys the more strapped students lunch, or invites them on group hikes and outings and field trips.
“This is nice as a topic,” she writes, “but much too openly admiring — don’t get labeled a softie for propaganda! Doesn’t sound like a journalist. Who are you writing for?
Okay, fair enough. Today, she fiercely criticizes the state of academia, as a ‘publish or perish’ world overflowing with bureaucratic pressures and paperwork, with its overemphasis on specializations in obscure, irrelevant areas of ‘expertise’. Academics are being forced to eschew the ‘big picture’ that can only be provided through a multi-disciplinary approach. Further, Taiwan’s academics are now pressured to publish in English, but they’re often ill-equipped to do so. These are some of the things she talks a LOT about these days — privately and publicly. Keep in mind her critical viewpoint has been unleashed upon a wide range of controversial issues for decades; for example, she’s been blacklisted since the 1970s by the US State Department for her outspokenness in anti-war criticism.
Yet, after getting to know her, she also seems, curiously, almost annoyingly, never angry. Why?
“I used to be rather depressed and depressing, but I went through a course of hypnotism three years ago, and it changed my style for the better, to pollyanna. Still colorful. The world may be going to hell in a handbasket, but I’m going along for the ride, and will still have fun.”
This article “needs some sarcastic edge”, she wrote, “like why Linda (and Lynn) is not working for the DPP? Or, how can the apparently grandmotherly figure be a raving revolutionary Marxist who went to Nicaragua in 1980?”
Indeed! What’s it like being an unabashed Marxist — no doubt you find yourself marginalized in different ways! And in what ways are you Marxist, really? W.E. await your response…
June 8th, 2011 Wild East news staff
The Breakfast Club, a group founded by Professor Jerome Keating that invites scholars to speak and lead discussions on historical issues and current affairs, will be meeting Saturday, June 11, 10 am.
Topic: From the Hsichih Trio to Judge Law Legislation
The meeting is open to all, and likely to draw assorted academics, professionals and visiting scholars.
The invited speaker is Lin Feng-jeng. Lin graduated from the Department of Law, National Taiwan University. He was Chair of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (2000~2003), and Chairman of Radio Taiwan International (2003~2006). He is currently a lawyer of Island Taiwan Law Office and serves as Executive Director of the Judicial Reform Foundation (2007~present).
For the past 20 years, civil society in Taiwan had been working hard to bring about improvements in the judiciary. There are setbacks. Hsichih Trio and Judge Law legislation are two of them.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Hsichih Trio. A murder case in Hsichih in 1991 resulted in the arrest and indictment of three young men, who were subsequently sentenced to death by district court, high court with the death penalty affirmed by the Supreme Court. Executions never take place because the case is marred by allegations of torture on the side of police to obtain torture. In November 2010, they were declared innocent by the High Court. But the Supreme Court overturned this decision and remanded the case to High Court. The retrial proceeding is scheduled to begin in June.
Judge Law legislation has been stalled in the Legislature for the past 20 years. It revived after scandalous revelations last year of bribery cases involving High Court Judges. It is very possible that it will be passed this year. If this draft law is passed, there will be a comprehensive law on judges. But there is a tug-of-war between the Judicial and Executive Yuans and opposition party right now on how outsiders could be involved in evaluating the performance of judges, among other issues.
We also have the recent case of the Air Force private who was tortured to a confession and executed only to find the prosecutors were over-zealous for conviction.
And we have the recent case of Zain Dean. Read more about Dean’s case here and here.
This topic affects all; let me know if you expect to come.
Jerome Keating: jkeating@ms67.hinet.net
The meeting location is the downstairs room of the restaurant 婷婷翠玉 at 174 AnHe Road, Section Two. A rough translation of name is ‘Tender, Pretty Green Jade’. You will be able to tell the restaurant by the lace curtains on the window. There is no cover charge. Breakfast cost will range between NT$100 and NT$150. Everyone buys their own.
April 15th, 2011 Wild East News Staff
From Prof. Keating:
 To all,
Good news.
We have our confirmation from Tsai Ing-wen’s office that she will meet with the Breakfast Club on Saturday morning, April 23rd; 10 am to 12 noon. RSVP: jkeating at ms67.hinet.net by Thursday.
Now some preparatory details. Because we expect a larger crowd, we have chosen a new venue; it will be near the corner of Nanking East Rd. Sec. 2 and Songjiang Rd. There is an MRT stop at that corner, plus all the buses that run along both Nanking and Songjiang, so it will be easily accessible.
This advance notice is to also prepare you; the presentation will be from 10 am to 12 noon, however, I will ask everyone to be there between 9:30 am and 10 am so that we can start right on time and have a maximum of time for people to ask questions. Plan your time for arrival; try to avoid being a straggler etc. we will start on time.
Venue: Beanstalk Cafe Basement #8, Lane 69 Songjiang Rd.
Directions: Bus: The cafe is not far from the corner of Nanking East Rd. Sec. 2 and Sungjiang (Songjiang) Rd. Many buses go down Nanking and Sungjiang. If taking a bus up or down Songjiang, you are closer if you get off at Chang An Rd. Lane 69 is on the East side of Songjiang, one block north of Chang An, about 3 blocks south of Nanking. MRT If taking the Red Line, transfer at Minquan W. Rd. to the Luzhou Line and take it to the Sungjiang (Songjiang) Nanking Station, use Exit 4 and walk south on Songjiang. If taking the Blue Line, transfer at Zhongxiao Xinsheng and go north on the Luzhou Line to Sungjiang Nanking Station and use Exit 4. Lane 69 is easily identified because there is an Ikari Coffee Shop at its corner. Walk east on Lane 69 to #8 and use the stairs down to the basement–a special outside entrance. Beanstalk Cafe has a Pig face on its exterior, www.beanstalk.com.tw 2507-5502
Format: I hope to establish this as a type of informal “fireside chat.” Tsai will talk for about 20 minutes. I have asked her to address two broad topics: “What is her vision for Taiwan?” and how does she see her party as differing from the KMT in their approach to Taiwan. Then she will be open for Q & A.
Questions: We will try to provide time for as many questions as possible — think beforehand on issues that you may wish to ask her. Each person will be allowed one question — no second questions until everyone else has had a chance for his/her question. Ask questions are clear and direct enough without a need for clarifying questions. Please, focus on questions; not personal observations etc. As I said, this is a little different because unlike past speakers, Tsai has a busy schedule and will not linger afterwards with us. Attendees can of course linger afterwards.
For the sake of time, we will forego the normal introduction of everyone; instead, each person will introduce his/her self when they ask their question.
Fee: We will have a charge for the room; at present we have figured that cost per person will be a flat NT$150. There will be no set breakfast; instead each person will have coffee or tea and a small cake. (If you feel you will be hungry, eat before or after–our aim here is as I said to maximize the interaction in the two hours) This is a little different from our regular format, but this will be a rare chance for all to interact with Tsai who is current Chairperson of the DPP (stepping down while she runs in the primary), and one who at present appears to be leading as nominee for the DPP, and of course has a good chance to be elected President in 2012.
Photos? I will try to arrange a brief time afterwards if any might wish to have a photo with Tsai.
Attendance: Let me know if you plan on coming; some are lackadaisical on this; but to plan enough seating etc. I need firmer numbers than before. When Frank Dikotter spoke, we had a lot of “all of a sudden shows” and pretty well maxed us out on our room. I will be keeping a list here and give preferential seating to early respondents, though all seats from what I have seen will have a good view.
Interest: Tsai is interested in interacting with people who care about Taiwan and its future: in my mind that is you; you would not attend if you did not.
I have heard Tsai speak before and her English is far better than Ma’s in my opinion. No need for translators here.
Cheers,
Jerome
April 5th, 2011  Seán McCormack founded Animals Taiwan and more recently the Taiwan SPCA. He talks with The Wild East about how Jane Goodall inspired his life’s work, his recent work and successes, and some of the (mostly positive) current trends in Taiwan regarding animal protection.
By Trista di Genova, The Wild East
Trista: What happened in that fateful meeting between you and Jane Goodall? Can you talk about your experience with her?
Seán McCormack: I was fortunate to enjoy a three-hour meeting with Dr Jane Goodall in late 2004, while she was holed up in her hotel room with all her engagements canceled, due to what turned out to be a mild typhoon. She had learned from mutual friends that I rescued and rehomed animals, and asked me questions about the situation here. She then suggested I start an organisation to get all these like-minded individuals working together to truly make a difference. I was incredibly inspired, as Jane had been a lifetime hero of mine, and I immediately went on to Forumosa.com and told everyone there I was starting an animal-rescue organisation as a ‘mission from Goodall’, and several of those who responded ended up co-founding Animals Taiwan with me. I often get to meet Jane when she visits Taiwan, and she is always interested to hear about my latest projects. I’ve been honoured to receive a couple of hand-written letters from Jane encouraging me to carry on making a difference and always offering her support. I feel incredibly lucky to have such an inspiring person motivating me to keep going.
Trista: How have Animals Taiwan and animal rights, for lack of a better term, improved or changed in past few years since I last interviewed you?
Seán: Animals Taiwan seems not to have grown since I left in 2008; in fact, things seem to have scaled down somewhat, as they no longer offer 24-hour emergency rescue, and many of the plans we had for future growth don’t seem to have been implemented. As I understand it, Animals Taiwan is kept small simply because of a lack of proper organisational structure that would permit and encourage growth. They have done a great job, though, of carrying on helping dogs and cats in need. I’m not really privy to what goes on there, so I can’t comment too much and must profess that much of what I do know is based only on what I hear.
Animal welfare, though, has greatly improved, and I’m incredibly proud of Taiwan for the rapid progress it is making. The Animal Protection Laws have been revised a couple of times, and Taiwan recently had its first court case for animal abuse, with the perpetrator receiving a prison sentence for cruelty. Cats are no longer caught and killed in Taipei City (unless a complaint is received), and CNR is now the preferred method of stray-cat control. We are seeing a larger percentage of companion animals being microchipped and neutered, though there is still a lot of room for improvement. And we now have an SPCA in Taiwan, which I started working on in late 2008 and which really took off when others joined to help me co-found it in June 2009. I’m not with the SPCA currently, but I’m sure it will be hugely successful as it grows into a professionally run animal-welfare organisation.
Trista: What has happened with the CNR (capture/neuter/release) policy?
Seán: The Taipei City Government and National Taiwan University support the neutering of all stray animals, as do other local governments around Taiwan. The NTU has been funding a free spay-and-neuter clinic, run by LCA (Life Conservationist Association), an experienced animal-welfare organisation, and has neutered thousands of stray animals from all over north Taiwan in the last couple of years. Funding is running out, though, but I hear LCA will be running their own clinic built on more sustainable practices.
Trista: What new services are there to help Taiwan animal owners adopt, find new homes, and what has been your role in them?
Seán: The newest service for helping people adopt, rehome, or rescue animals is the Taiwan SPCA, which I co-founded in 2009 after starting work on it in late 2008. The SPCA will, among other projects, be running adoption shops, where people can adopt animals that the SPCA has rescued or confiscated, or which have been supplied by local kill pounds. I am also co-founding an Wulai-based rescue-and-rehoming centre as well as a national, wiki-based animal-rescue network, which will help individuals from local cells of like-minded people who take on certain roles necessary to rescue and rehome animals in need; the cells will also get support and guidance from other cells around the country through the wiki-based network. We hope to have both these projects up and running later this year.
Trista: Do you see any positive larger trends in Taiwan that you’d like to discuss?
Seán: I think we are seeing a trend towards healthier diets for our companion animals, which I’m really happy to see, as I’ve been promoting healthier, non-processed food for dogs and cats since I started getting media attention. We’re even seeing raw food being sold in pet stores, which is just great to see. People are realising that they have been fooled by clever marketing into believing that processed pellets are healthier for our animals than fresh, species-appropriate meaty bones with optional supplements. People all over the world are waking up and realising that our grandparents’ dogs and cats lived longer, healthier lives fed on meaty bones and table scraps — the diet that dogs have thrived on for thousands of years. I’m very proud to see this trend in Taiwan, and I will carry on doing whatever I can to ensure it continues, so that more dogs and cats can enjoy better health.
Trista: What media attention have you been getting (specifics, also any awards)?
Seán: I have been in the media a few times recently, promoting the message that cruel, medieval devices like gin traps do not belong in a beautiful, advanced country like Taiwan. We appeared in several papers and TV news programs, including the Apple Daily and FTV.
I have never received an award for my animal-welfare work, though I have just been nominated for the Hong Kong SPCA’s Canine Hero Award, for achievements towards the rescuing and rehoming of dogs, for which I am incredibly honoured. I have also been advised that I may apply for a special APRC for my contributions to the Republic of Taiwan, which I am now in the process of taking advantage of.
Trista: What are 3 (or more if you wish) things you’d like to see changed in terms of prevention of cruelty to animals in Taiwan in the next few years?
Seán: What three changes would I like to see? 1. I’d like to see all the Taiwanese animal-welfare organisations adopt international standards, because many local groups are seriously lacking when it comes to the treatment of the animals in their care, with many keeping dogs and cats in tiny wire-floor cages or in other inhumane conditions. 2. I would like to see all organisations work together to improve the local adoption rates; organisations seem to dedicate all their resources to rescuing and publicizing but not enough to getting the animals into good homes — that needs a huge shift in public thinking, but that is what these organisations should be working towards if they truly want to make a difference. 3. I would like to see the root of the problem properly addressed, with breeders licensed, public education about responsible pet care and adopting instead of buying, of animals being microchipped at sale or adoption, and people fined for allowing unneutered pets to roam free. These are just a few of the root causes, and there are more that I would love to see addressed. 4. I would like to see inhumane trapping devices eradicated, and our Wulai rescue group (WAGS) will be doing a lot to make that happen.
Trista: Can you describe your recent experience carrying out animal rescues?
Seán: Recently, we haven’t been able to do too many rescues because our rescue van is out of commission, but I’ve been lucky to have others step up to assist. Recent rescues of note include an injured duck who had been dumped in a park pond, many dogs caught in gin traps and snares and consequently lost a limb, and an aggressive husky whom the police and fire department couldn’t get to leave a convenience store. We also have in our care a Formosan ferret badger, an endemic species that is now endangered; he, too, lost a limb to an illegal gin trap.
Trista: Could you talk a little more about gin traps, when and why are they used, by whom?
Seán: A gin trap is a trapping device that’s illegal to use in Taiwan but legal to buy and sell — go figure. They are used by people too lazy to hunt, and are often left unchecked for days at a time, in which time they maim or kill endangered wildlife as well as huge numbers of cats and dogs. They basically clamp shut on the limb of whichever animal is unfortunate enough to step into them in an attempt to get at whatever bait is placed nearby, eventually leading to that limb falling off or being chewed off by the victim. Some have even harmed people. They are used to catch wildlife, as deterrents to keep animals off (usually illegal) farmland, and for killing rats in or near restaurant kitchens.
Trista: So what exactly happened, why’d you leave Animals Taiwan? And how do you make your bread and butter now, then?
Seán: I was the Founder and Executive Director at Animals Taiwan, and I left because I simply could not see the organisation growing effectively with its lack of structure, which really fell apart after we became a registered NGO headed by a board of directors. I felt I lacked the leadership abilities to keep everyone focused on the organisation’s goals, and so I stepped down as ED. I didn’t actually leave the organisation, but let’s just say there was no suitable role made available to me after I made that move. I decided to start the SPCA to put my vision of an animal inspectorate into fruition, and a similar situation occurred there, and I left as the SPCA was about to become properly registered. I readily accept that I currently lack the leadership skills to keep everyone working as a coherent, well-structured entity–the kind of leadership that both organisations need if they are to fulfill their huge potential–and that is why I am comfortable leaving. My goals are to see these organisations being effective in Taiwan, not to satisfy an ego or a need to control them. I’m very proud of my ability to get these things started, and I am happy to leave them for others to run, knowing that they will eventually adopt proper structures and have the kind of leadership to really make them effective.
I’m currently working as a writer and editor for some overseas publications.
Trista: Is it really your lack of leadership skills, or a lack of interest in taking on all the responsibilities and/or bureaucratic tasks entailed in leading an organization?
Seán: Well, of course it’s both. I don’t have the skills, but, also, I’m not a fan of bureaucratic procedures, nor of dealing with people’s issues. I’ve learned that my strength lies in encouraging other to join my projects and not in running them myself. I much prefer being involved with the ‘front line’ doing all the hands-on stuff, and leaving the meetings and power struggles to others.
Trista: You recently moved, right? How many dogs do you currently have under your protection? Are they waiting for homes?
Seán: Right now, I have my own eight dogs as well as three in need of good homes, including Hoss the husky, Buster the chihuahua mix, and Jino the tugou amputee. We also have Wasabi, who has recovered beautifully from skin disease and is now available for adoption. They can all be found on our Facebook page.
Trista: How can people contribute, donate and get involved in the cause?
Seán: If people want to get involved or donate, the best way is to join our Facebook page, as we will be keeping everyone updated as to our latest projects. We generally accept donations only for specific rescues, and we invite people to contribute directly to individual expenses, such as the vet bills or even gas for the car to get us out to an animal in need of help.
Trista: I’m tempted to ask the personal question, “Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” but maybe that is not so appropriate, I don’t know. 
Sean: I’ve found that most women (or their parents at least) don’t believe I make a good long-term prospect, because my priorities seem to lie elsewhere. So although I’ve been lucky enough to attract some great women because of the work I do, it’s that work that eventually causes relationships to erode. Waking up to the mess left by my incontinent dogs can also be an attraction killer.  I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I may be single on and off for life, and I’m happy with that.
ANIMAL RESCUE CONTACT:
Taiwan Animal S.O.S.
An animal-rescue organization operating in northern Taiwan, dealing with everything from companion animals to injured farm and wild animals 我們是一個在台灣北部進行動物救援工作的組織,救援對象包含所有需要幫助的同伴動物,各種農場動物以及野生動物
Contact Us 聯絡方式
www.spca.org.tw
Office Headquarters 協會總部 Hours 上班時間 : Monday through Friday 週一到週五 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM Phone 電話 : (02) 2312–1914
March 18th, 2011 By Trista di Genova, The Wild East
Tuesday at 4 pm, the judge at Taipei District courthouse read out the verdict in less than five minutes, and the group filed out of the courtoom. Two family members of the deceased motorcyclist left first, and then the half-dozen or more Zain Dean supporters listened in the hallway as the translator read the verdict in English.
The court handed down a guilty verdict to the Briton on three counts: 1) DUI, with a five-month sentence; 2) a hit-and-run accident (technically “leaving the site of an accident”), a one-year prison term; and 3) accidental homicide, sixteen months. After serving two years and nine months Dean faces expulsion from the country where in 17 years he went from English teacher and reporter to entrepreneur advising the Taiwan government and leading corporations. His girlfriend, an ROC citizen, was found not guilty of destroying evidence.
For foreign observers who have closely watched the case unfold over the past year, it was the worst-case scenario, “a travesty of justice, but not entirely unexpected since there was the small chance, I suppose, that the judges could act with such impunity despite all the evidence proving Dean’s innocence,” said one American female observer who attended several hearings in past months. “It’s horribly disappointing, even an ominous indication of the nature of Taiwan’s judicial system as it relates to treatment of foreign residents here.”
Another female U.S. observer described the trial as “a ridiculous gangland frame-up.” She also pointed out recent corruption charges (bribery) made against several Taiwan judges, as well as the fact that shortly after the hit-and-run incident, several police officers in the very police precinct involved in Dean’s case were charged by the National Police Administration for their connections to local mafia.
“The conviction flies in the face of all evidence”, according to a retired British attorney who was present at hearings since last summer and is familiar with the case. For starters, a conviction on a DUI charge would usually be accompanied by evidence to back up this claim, he pointed out. And at no time were police or arresting officers called in to testify or substantiate evidence of intoxication, for example; in a fair trial “they must be brought into court.”
The attorney noted also that the videos submitted by the prosecution only proved the defense’s point — Dean got into the passenger seat that night and in fact, he wasn’t the driver when the accident occurred. Furthermore, critical surveillance footage from one of the city’s most camera-heavy intersections (Xinyi and Songren) had been suppressed in a case where guilt or innocence could have been easily established by this. When defense lawyer Billy Chen had pressed examining judges in the initial investigation for access to video footage, the magistrate snapped, “I’m not giving you the tapes, so stop asking me for them,” and observers believed this was not recorded in the trial transcript.
The trial was “a classic case of discrimination” against a UK national, the foreign observer concluded, since it was “wrongful, unfair treatment” that involved withholding of evidence. The attorney said he was recommending the BTCO (British Trade and Cultural Office in Taiwan) take a more active role in protecting its citizen in this case.
Dean, when interviewed by The Wild East about his conviction, said he felt no anger with the judges’ decision, after being in a legal limbo since March 25 last year. “I suppose I had been naive to think that the law or the evidence may have been used to make a verdict. According to Taiwanese law and the evidence of the case, I am innocent. I even publically pointed out the faked prosecutor photographic evidence in court, to an audience of 20 expat witnesses thinking this could have changed the outcome. But it didn’t”.
Dean also said he could understand why the judges had come to this decision. “The judges are in a tight spot, and have been under a lot of public pressure to find me guilty. Public pressure makes a big difference in Taiwan where the media exaggerate and sensationalize news stories.”
Canadian Denis Chauvin said, “I just don’t know how a guilty verdict can come if there isn’t any substantiated proof other than just some circumstantial nonsense.”
When the story broke last year that a foreign “CEO” had been involved in a hit-and-run accident with a “Mercedes,” it was splashed all over the news for a month. Tuesday’s verdict was a top news item the next day in the Chinese-language Apple Daily. English-language news outlets in Taiwan, however, were far less interested in the trial’s outcome — it was an inaccurate, shoddily written brief in the Taipei Times on Wednesday. It should be noted that The Wild East had the only foreign reporter present at this and other hearings of this trial. Read our previous coverage here and here.
Defense lawyer Chen — who’d previously expressed great confidence of the court delivering a ‘not-guilty’ verdict — is filing an appeal, and resolved to take this to Taiwan’s Supreme Court.
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