^^

Post your opinion, and also to keep this board alive :)

IMO they should first fix the traffic issues, from stories i've herd about people traveling back to Taiwan, Taiwanese drivers are pretty bad behaved, they don't like to follow the laws. People's driving behavior is an important aspect on any developed (or developing) countries, it shows how educated the citizens are, and how mature a society is.

It seems to have a lot of worldwide recognition already, though the sad thing is that China keeps obsessing over its unification policy.

As for the drivers, it can pretty much be said of all the drivers in Asia except Japan. Japan's roads seem pretty civilized. I've heard bad reports from China, and I have personally seen Thailand's roads as well.

The stench of garbage on the streets seems to be a problem as well. The olfactory sense can serve as a pretty big bias for a country. Garbage smell is pretty much gone from downtown Taipei, but there are some parts of the city where it still reeks, from when I last visited in 2003. Here in LA, you never smell garbage anywhere on the streets unless you approach within 2-3 meters of a dumpster.

in my opinion ppl from different countries has different driving habits which are probably irrelevant to the level education; many westerners must have wondered why asian ppl love to break the traffic rules so much? they ve forgotten to consider the fact that most asian countries are usually so densely populated that breaking the traffic rules is probably the only way out. besides there are not that many people breaking the traffic rules in Taiwan anyway.............New York, LA, Sydney, and many other cities have got really terrible traffics as well and plenty of rule breakers.... given that these places are a lot bigger in terms of their area..... as oppose to little tiny taipei which is probably not even 1/15 of their sizes and yet has the similar population.....

Ministry shrugs off gripes about helicopter patrols
SILENT MAJORITY: Most of the criticism of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway patrols is from scofflaws who don't like being reined in, a police official said yesterday
By Cody Yiu
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Aug 19, 2004,Page 4

A traffic official yesterday downplayed negative reaction to the National Police Adminstration's new enforcement campaign on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway, saying that there has also been positive public feedback.

"What have been reflected in media reports are mostly negative comments regarding this new enforcement plan, which aims to protect the rights of safe drivers," Chen You-chin (陳友新), director of the adminstrations's traffic division, said yesterday. "Responsible drivers who obey traffic regulations do not make much noise about this new plan. There is a good balance of positive and negative feedback from drivers at this point."

The adminstration's 24-hour, stricter enforcement campaign, which began Monday, levies a NT$3,000 fine for five different traffic offenses.

Chen said that by executing the new plan, the government also wishes to improve helicopter patrols, which are already used to provide assistance in the case of major crimes or accidents.

Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday fended off criticisms over air patrols conducted along the freeway by stating that some technical adjustments will be made to increase public acceptance of the stricter traffic rules.

"There are simply too many accidents taking place on that highway," Su said. "I don't think anyone will oppose the idea of a stricter traffic law enforcement plan. The details of the plan's execution can definitely be further discussed with related authorities and adjustments can be made."

Su said that using helicopters to spot individual traffic violators might be an ideal strategy, but is not realistic.

"Many people think that the helicopters are used to make arrests of drivers who violate traffic regulations," Su said. "But in reality, how can arrests be done in mid-air? Helicopters can tip off ground patrol about what is going on from an aerial perspective, but actual arrest from the air is not practical," said Su.

Su explained that the main function of the air patrols is to provide real time traffic reports and aid in major crimes, accidents or other incidents on the road.


http://www.taipeitimes.com/images/2004/08/19/20040818202033.jpeg
A police helicopter monitors traffic over one of the toll stations along the Sun Yat-sen Freeway yesterday as part of a new enforcement plan which, police claim, aims to protect the rights of safe drivers.

I've read that the Taiwan govt. is starting to crack down on traffic violators and enforcing traffic laws more. They're even using helicopters to scan the freeways and take photos of offending drivers who switch lanes without signaling, speeding, etc. That'll probably improve the poor driving culture there.

But I think Taiwan can get more global attention, outside of political means, is to use more international architects to design their buildings, stadiums, airports, hi speed rail stations, and other projects. Like hiring Zaha Hadid to design the Taichung Guggenheim would've garnered plenty of international attention since she's pretty famous already. Hiring Frank Gehry definitely would get attention. Had they hired an international architect to design Taipei 101 like Cesar Pelli they would've gotten much more attention than they're getting now. But I know they wanted to use a local architect out of national pride and to lower costs.

Ministry defends freeway blitz
ROAD RULES: Some motorists were annoyed they had been pulled up for violating the rules of the road, but overall the government is satisfied with its freeway crackdown
By Cody Yiu
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Aug 18, 2004,Page 2

"This number [of citations] means that a potential 900 car accidents never took place. We hope that the public can understand the government's goodwill in executing this plan."

Lee Chin-yung, vice minister of the interior
The Ministry of the Interior yesterday said that stricter enforcement of traffic rules for the Sun Yat-sen Freeway was reducing the death toll for the accident-prone stretch of road.

The National Police Agency's strict enforcement campaign started on Monday, and is targeting five traffic violations: changing lanes without indicating, failure to keep a proper distance from other vehicles, improper use of the outside lane, large vehicles (with more than three axles) in inappropriate lanes and driving on shoulders.

Motorists who violate the rules will face a fine of NT$3,000 per offense. The crackdown is being enforced 24 hours a day.

Traffic is being monitored using helicopter patrols in addition to regular patrol cars.

Helicopters are being dispatched during rush hour -- from 7am to 9am and 5pm to 7pm -- to provide real-time traffic condition updates and to provide immediate assistance when serious traffic accidents occur.

However, during the two-week trial period which ended on Sunday, the enforcement campaign came under fire from motorists and lawmakers. They have complained that the campaign was overly strict and a waste of resources.

In response to the complaints, Vice Minister of the Interior Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) yesterday said the enforcement plan had good intentions.

"The purpose of this plan is to reduce accidents on the freeway and the death toll. The helicopters are being used because an aerial view allows for a more comprehensive control of traffic flow on the freeway," Lee said.

He said that on the first day of the campaign, more than 900 traffic violations had been spotted and acted on.

"This number means that a potential 900 car accidents never took place. We hope that the public can understand the government's goodwill in executing this plan," Lee said.

As to media skeptics who doubted the utility of helicopter patrols, Lee said that the National Police Agency's air patrol unit assignment list had always included assistance in cracking down on crime as well as helping with disaster relief.

"The entire campaign is consistent with traffic laws and aims to protect motorists," Lee said.

Freeway traffic accident figures provided by the agency show that between January 2000 and June this year, there were 371 freeway accidents with 453 people killed.

The leading causes of accidents were not maintaining a proper distance between vehicles and illegal lane changes, which combined to produce 88 accidents, 108 deaths and 113 injured.

Well.. if you are technology-savvy.. then Taiwan is your Mecca

Yeah the traffic issues is pretty bad, but its not as if its good here in southern Cal. Taiwan is already pretty well known to people in business but I don't think the average guy knows alot about taiwan. So I think we should promote tourism more :) I also have seen some commercials about visiting taiwan here, so something is in the works.

wow... I'm surprised to hear that there are still part of Taipei with the garbage smell... that is prety horrible.

and I would say the traffic here in SoCal is pretty good, I mean, if you go down to Tijuana, you would know the true meaning of chaos, I would never ever drive down there, unless of course... I'm drunk and care-free :cheers:

And how come i've never seen any Taiwan Tourism promotion ads? Perphaps i don't watch TV enough :sleepy:

It seems to have a lot of worldwide recognition already, though the sad thing is that China keeps obsessing over its unification policy.

As for the drivers, it can pretty much be said of all the drivers in Asia except Japan. Japan's roads seem pretty civilized. I've heard bad reports from China, and I have personally seen Thailand's roads as well.

The stench of garbage on the streets seems to be a problem as well. The olfactory sense can serve as a pretty big bias for a country. Garbage smell is pretty much gone from downtown Taipei, but there are some parts of the city where it still reeks, from when I last visited in 2003. Here in LA, you never smell garbage anywhere on the streets unless you approach within 2-3 meters of a dumpster.

But you gotta understand the level of difference between Taiwan and Thailand, China. Taiwan is being labeled as a developed country and it is trying to promote an image of high-tech civilized society which can be compared to that of Japan's. How can people think Taiwan as a well developed, high-tech, contry when you can still smell and see the garbage, chaotic traffic, and street dogs? those are images of a developing countries.

I've heard Taiwan improved it's traffic and garbage smells alot tho compared to the past, at least in Taipei. The city now doesn't allow people to leave garbage on the street before the trucks come by to pick it up unlike the past. They also have recycling and built incinerators. Ya I heard there's still alot of stray animals. That's the fault of the citizens culture of just tossing unwanted pets into the wild. But I heard pets now have microchips implanted into the backs so they can be identified when lost. Kinda hi-tech. We don't have that in the States.

New York City is highly developed, yet we still have some bad traffic, primarily in congested Manhattan, as well as garbage smells. People from other cleaner cities like Vancouver, Chicago, etc. think NYC is pretty smelly and dirty, although in NYC's defense it is a much older city. Traffic on LA's freeways is a daily event. I've heard even Tokyo isn't THAT clean and traffic's bad. And I heard Seoul has horrific traffic and many areas are pretty dirty or run down outside of the business districts. All cities have the same problems more or less.

The largest cities may not always give the best image of a country's development status. Take NYC; it has nice parts and it has filthy parts.
The approach Taiwan is taking to promote itself hasnt yielded results. How is tourism in Taiwan so far this year? They've put up a huge tourism campaign worldwide. Maybe that can say something about how Taiwan stands in the mind of our global denizens.

Necessities for world-class cities include:
Clean, efficient, affordable, convenient transportation
Clean urban environment
Desirably low crime rate
Tourist attractions
History, culture unique to the area
Ready availability of basic and advanced facilities
English compatibility
Diversity of people
Hospitality in locals, welcoming atmosphere for foreigners

Necessities for world-class cities include:
Clean, efficient, affordable, convenient transportation
Clean urban environment
Desirably low crime rate
Tourist attractions
History, culture unique to the area
Ready availability of basic and advanced facilities
English compatibility
Diversity of people
Hospitality in locals, welcoming atmosphere for foreignersMost World-class cities do not even come close to this list.. London, HK and NYC sure dont :lol:

As for the drivers, it can pretty much be said of all the drivers in Asia except Japan. Japan's roads seem pretty civilized. I've heard bad reports from China, and I have personally seen Thailand's roads as well.

.


Japan isn't the only one. Hong Kong and Singapore drivers are very well behaved, Traffic rules are also heavily enforced .

Most World-class cities do not even come close to this list.. London, HK and NYC sure dont :lol:


I disagree, Hong Kong is very efficient, convenient and their transportation is top notch new and very clean. Hong Kong has a history and culture, open to foriegners, crime rate is also low. Many people in HK also speak english since its their 2nd language, and the city itself has tons of advanced facilities. Although Cantonese make up 95% of the population it is still considered diversified among Asian cities. There are many Indians,Pakistanis,Vietnamese,Thai, Filipinos, Brits, and other Europeans living in HK. The only thing HK doesnt fit that list is cleanliness. Besides the business and high class area other parts of HK is not as tidy.

It seems to have a lot of worldwide recognition already, though the sad thing is that China keeps obsessing over its unification policy.

As for the drivers, it can pretty much be said of all the drivers in Asia except Japan. Japan's roads seem pretty civilized. I've heard bad reports from China, and I have personally seen Thailand's roads as well.

The stench of garbage on the streets seems to be a problem as well. The olfactory sense can serve as a pretty big bias for a country. Garbage smell is pretty much gone from downtown Taipei, but there are some parts of the city where it still reeks, from when I last visited in 2003. Here in LA, you never smell garbage anywhere on the streets unless you approach within 2-3 meters of a dumpster.


Not really during winter or hot summer days you can smell sewage steam coming out from the drainage systems.

jeez... no need to post such negative posts zergcelebrates

I've heard Hong Kong is pretty congested, dirty and smelly in some areas. And I've heard the air pollution can be pretty bad.

Some of NY's streets might smell of garbage, but I think the air quality is generally better than LA. LA can be flat out disgusting due to smog and air pollution, primarily around downtown and the vicinities.

Like I said there's good and bad aspects to all cities and opinions will always vary.

Taiwan, and Taipei particularly, must continue apace with infrastructure spending and development. The problems are not with the smell or the roads. The nation as a whole simply must do something about its international standing. Most people know little about it, and any campaign to promote tourism shouldn't resemble the baseless ads Saudi Arabia puts out to promote its image worldwide that we sometimes see. Set up NGOs in developing Southeast Asia, provide support for terrorist victims, etc. Make people think you are the nice guy and expand your image in Asia, then you can work on the rest of the world.

But seriously, why do people (probably only the Taiwanese natives themselves) get this idea that people do not know much about them?

Are they refering to their culture, their way of life, their music, or political status, or their very existance?

Kinda a little of each I think. And I don't think it's just Taiwanese insecurity It's partly factual. Part of the reason is that the country is totally overshadowed by giant neighbors China and Japan among others.

I'll add more input later. Right now I'm sooo tired and sleepy.

:sleepy:

Kinda a little of each I think. And I don't think it's just Taiwanese insecurity It's partly factual. Part of the reason is that the country is totally overshadowed by giant neighbors China and Japan among others.

I'll add more input later. Right now I'm sooo tired and sleepy.
Well, perhaps it is indeed true that Taiwan is small geographically and demographically when compared to the Chinese mainland, but I am pretty damn sure people know what Taiwan is compared to say Mongolia! :D

In fact, I would presuem that more often then not, in western societies, a mention of China will ususally invoke the word Taiwan soon after.

In my personal experience, whenever I tell people about Taiwan, a lot of them think I'm talking about Thailand unless of course, they're Asian. Taiwan really needs to promote itself more globally outside of Asia. When I was in Japan, I saw quite a lot of Taiwan tourism adverts, although I have rarely seen one in North America.

Perhaps it's because Japanese tourists make up most of the tourists around the globe that visit Taiwan

I guess that would make sense due to the proximity. Although, you can't neglect the other countries around the world.

In frankly, Taiwan tourism has myraid of debasing to his vigor of characteristic prominently it was because board of the Government all to be said sleeply & idly :D



2004 official Publication campaign

Touch Your Heart ~~~ TAIWAN (http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=126109)

In frankly, Taiwan tourism has myraid of debasing to his vigor of characteristic prominently it was because board of the Government all to be said sleeply & idly :D


HUH???

Haha...erm...you have to try to translate his sentences back into Chinese before you can decipher what he is saying most of the time! :D

So smart could able to deciphering my code:)

O.K. Buy U a drink http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid77/p83bd3d0f49ca59c9473846b05aa3e4fd/fb2ac7d4.jpg


At the result ubiquitously to be seen that over and excess in developing of the state resources, merely only be satisflied to met with own benefits by mostly local an entrepreneur, for which being neglected from the concept of integration btw national policy as well as in confrontation to and defy against the legal authority repeatedly :bash:


On the other hand, bureaucracy and consciousness of one's national identity are mostly common in existing to the central even on the power inning

Hence, Government Servant most likely to sit and relax, not be spoiling to harmonious system & relationship among private and public that to be in concordance with the art of communication as well as longevity for the career
itself :D

hey isan, i think i am experiencing serious difficulties in what u have to say...
Is it just me or everyone else feels the same? Damn it .....i want to know what he is saying....

use the translator, that's how to decipher his secret "code"

respect ur own culture, & stop being American's puppet.