#taipei is the only place i've ever seen a man yell at a police officer for daring to pull him over

[thistransient]

Yesterday I witnessed a car either overlook or blatantly ignore not one, not two, but three signs indicating not to drive through this tunnel, and of course promptly get stuck in it. It would have been merely amusing had I not been trying to get through the tunnel by bike myself, with a scooter behind me. (There is the illusion of space to exit, but in reality not enough turning radius into the next alley.) Still, the car was in denial and having a go at it, now angling to leaving a gap through which one could potentially squeeze- and then suddenly backing up again. Although I was at the head of the queue, I didn't feel like taking my chances with the jaws of death. Impatient, the scooter bypassed me, and then also thought better of it. Finally our saviour arrived, an auntie on foot who was having none of this nonsense and boldly scampered through, which seemed to put the vehicle in its place and we all followed her to freedom.

Taiwanese streets, while at least less chaotic than China (and fewer feral dog packs than Thailand) still leave much to be desired for the pedestrian. Recently citizens protested a proposal to ease minor traffic offense punishments. And why was this proposed? "According to the amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, these 10 "minor" violations with fines of up to NT$1,200 or less can no longer be reported by the public, with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) citing the heavy burden placed on police by skyrocketing reports of traffic violations for the reversal." (Focus Taiwan)